Dear readers, this week we dove into how Mexico is protecting the world’s second-largest coral reef...
The Riviera Maya — an idyllic strip of Caribbean coastline in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo — is Mexico’s number-one tourism destination. And below the sea, a natural wonder can be found: the Mesoamerican Reef, the largest barrier reef system in the Western Hemisphere.
The reef is a crucial part of the local ecosystem and the local economy — and both are in peril. “People here view the reef as an irreplaceable legacy that they want to leave to their children,” Miguel Angel Diego, of local resort company Corporativo Paraiso de la Bonita, told writer Alexandra Kirkman.
As the region slowly emerges from the coronavirus lockdown, an innovative experiment is underway to safeguard the reef and the tourism industry it helps support. A first-of-its kind insurance policy will provide Quintana Roo with funds to repair the reef — and test a novel way to use the economic value of nature to pay for its conservation.
What do you think? We'd love to hear from you. Cheers, Laura, Amanda and Kyla | 
