2012 Report Card for the Mesoamerican Reef Launching!

Last Tuesday 4th of December the Healthy reefs for healthy people initiative (HRI) presented the 2012 Report card for the Mesoamerican reef. The publication was launched in all 4 Mesoamerican countries, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras, at launch events held in different venues. 

HRI is a collaborative international initiative that generates user-friendly tools to measure, track and report on the health of the Mesoamerican Reef Ecossytem (MAR). They aim to improve reef management and decision-making to effectively sustain an economically and ecologically thirving MAR eco-region by delivering scientifically credible and respected biennial Report Cards on ecosystem health, followed up with biennial Eco-aAudits that evaluate the implementation of recommended management actions. 

This publication highlights three focal sections-existing and emerging threats to reef health; an assessment on the current state of the reef and social context; highlights of reef conservation actions across the region, including the prioritized recommendations to foster healthy reefs and healthy people. 

This work was done thanks to the data gathered from different organizations that throughout the years have been monitoring the reefs and surrounded ecosystems. In Mexico, the data comes from 68 sites along the Quintana Roo coast, and it shows that 30% of them are in critical state, 40% in poor, 25% fair and 5% in good state. Which means a lot of work still needs to be done.  

Amigos de Sian Ka'an/GVI data from Sian Ka'an biosphere reserve and Mahahual sites were also used to produce this report, our Country Director Lluvia Soto Jiménez participated as a reviewer of the card. We are happy to see how the data gathered by current and past volunteers and staff in GVI Mexico is helping to show the health of the reef in a larger scale. 

To download the full version of the card please click here

2012 Report Card for the Mesoamerican Reef Launching!