Mexiconservación's Blog

We are pleased to announce that our Marine Projects Director, Lucy Gallagher, recently completed a Washington State University online course in Business Planning for Protected Areas. The pilot course was offered by the UNESCO-World Heritage Centre, The Nature Conservancy, and Washington State University, in collaboration with members of the Conservation Finance Alliance and was designed to facilitate access to the essential information and tools needed to accelerate the formulation of long-term solutions to the financial needs of protected areas. Mexiconservación hopes to put her newly acquired knowledge to good use in future conservation projects!

Mexiconservación had the privilege of participating in a Workshop for Trainers and Evaluators in Best Practices for Sustainable Tourism, organized by the Rainforest Alliance and held at LaSalle University in Cancún, from May 6-9th. The purpose of the event was to develop local capacity to assist the tourism industry in the implementation of best practices by creating a network of consultants in which NGOs, academia and private sector consultants are to be represented.

The beautiful Paseo de Montejo in Merida is currently the site for an unusual art exhibition called the Sisterhood of Sculptures Mexico-Germany. It features contemporary ecological pieces, each conveying an environmental message to the passer-by. Each sculpture is accompanied by a plaque including the name of the work of art, artist and description of the environmental problem it represents. This exhibition will remain in Merida until February 2009 – do not miss it if you are in the area!

Mexiconservación attended the Coral Reef Management & Conservation Symposium organized by CONANP and ICRI in celebration of the International Year of the Reef.  The event took place at the Cozumel Campus of the University of Quintana Roo on April 18.  The presentations included those by representatives of various Natural Parks, Universities and NGOs working in the region.

On March 31, Mexiconservación was invited to present the Green Guide to various hotel representatives at a large conference held at the Hotel Fiesta American, in Cancun. This conference, organized by the Secretary of the Environment (SEMARNAT) and the Rainforest Alliance, focused on the adoption of best environmental practices in the region and aimed to include hotels from Cancun to Tulum, in a new strategy towards sustainable tourism.

Earlier on this year, Mexiconservación made its very first donation to one of the many conservation projects in the Riviera Maya. We are proud to have been able to contribute 3000 pesos to Flora, Fauna y Cultura’s Turtle Care Program, raised from products we developed specifically for turtle conservation projects. To find out more about Flora. Fauna y Cultura’s Turtle Care Program, click here. Thank you to all those that helped raise these funds by purchasing our Turtle Gift Certificates and Greeting Cards!