Latin America is key to protecting biodiversity and combating the global climate crisis. Its forests, wetlands and marine ecosystems are among the most important carbon sinks on the planet, a service weakened by activities such as the exploitation and use of fossil fuels.

At AIDA, we envision a region where the environment and communities, especially those in highly vulnerable situations, have lasting protections.

To achieve this, we select precedent-setting cases that result in new, replicable tools and strategies that add to the protection of a healthy environment in the region.

Having celebrated 25 years of working for the right to a healthy environment in the region, AIDA is poised to enter a new quarter century as a robust, multidisciplinary organization.

In the coming years, we will continue and strengthen our pursuit of environmental and climate justice through two interconnected initiatives, each with defined lines of work:

 

1. Promotion of a just energy transition

A just energy transition implies transforming the power relations between those who pollute the most and the rest of the world, avoiding the deepening of socio-environmental conflicts and protecting the rights of communities and people involved in energy generation processes. As this is an issue that cannot be addressed only at the national level, AIDA will contribute its regional vision to increase the scope of local and national decisions, enhance legal strategies, and strengthen a proposal for the continent’s transition. We will focus on:

• Avoiding dependence on oil and gas.
• Halting the extraction and use of coal.
• Promoting renewable and sustainable energies.
• Advocating for human rights-based climate finance and governance.

 

2. Protection of life-sustaining systems

The ecosystem services that sustain life in Latin America and the world—including natural carbon capture and storage to mitigate the climate crisis, and the provision of clean food, air, and water - are at risk due to the lack of ambitious and effective actions. To ensure the livelihoods of life systems on the continent, both in rural communities and large cities, AIDA will focus its efforts on:

• Protecting the ocean, from the coasts to the high seas.
• Preserving freshwater sources and traditional territories.
• Defending culture and traditional livelihoods.
• Improving air quality.

 

In the coming years, from our regional perspective, we will continue to contribute to solutions that center nature and communities, and that effectively address the continent’s social and environmental challenges.

 

So far, the ocean has featured little in the United Nations climate negotiations. Yet without it, solutions to the climate crisis would be incomplete.

The annual sessions of the UN Convention on Climate Change have emphasized reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but have not recognized the role of the ocean and its importance in meeting climate change goals.

A healthy ocean is a natural carbon reservoir and its degradation implies the intensification of the climate crisis. Without its help, we cannot prevent the planet from warming to an unsustainable level.

But the ocean is beginning to crumble due to pressure from factors such as overfishing and pollution, in addition to the climate crisis.

The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) shows that the ocean suffers from overheating, acidification, and loss of oxygen—an element essential for life under the sea.

The report revealed the worst: the climate crisis is the ocean crisis.

However, we still have windows of opportunity to bring the ocean back to health by improving its governance and controlling the planet's temperature.

Decadent health

The ocean plays a key role in maintaining life on the planet. It produces half the oxygen we breathe, circulates fresh water, and generates nutrients. The livelihoods of fishing and tourism communities depend on its good health.

In recent years, the ocean has been a buffer. Standing between our communities and the worst effects of the climate crisis, the ocean has absorbed 93 percent of the excess heat and 28 percent of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, UN experts said.

But this natural protection has serious consequences. By absorbing and interacting with pollutants, the rate of increase in ocean temperature has more than doubled since the end of the 20th century, according to the IPCC.

Recent scientific evidence is not just another warning, but perhaps the last and most urgent call to protect the ocean through accelerated climate action.

Act now

An opportunity to rescue this ecosystem is in each country's plans to reduce emissions and contain global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (or as close as possible to that figure).

The twenty-fifth Conference of the Parties (COP25) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to be held in Chile in December, represents the final deadline for countries to submit new and more ambitious commitments by 2020.

Costa Rica, as host of the COP25 preparatory meeting, decided to give nature space in the climate fight. In fact, the ocean is one of the issues that the government has placed on the agenda of the PreCOP, underway this week.

Stronger commitments to reducing emissions will rid the ocean of one of the main pressure points that has it on the verge of collapse.

Integral solution

This is not the only action the international community is taking to save this ecosystem.

A treaty is still being negotiated on the high seas: marine areas beyond national jurisdiction. Together they account for almost two-thirds of the ocean. Countries have between now and 2020 to achieve a treaty that protects the high seas and, with it, almost half of the planet.

On the other hand, the States Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity will negotiate new targets for the protection of biodiversity at a meeting to be held in 2020.

The target for marine biodiversity should be the protection of at least 30 percent of the ocean through effectively protected areas and the sustainable management of the remaining 70 percent.

Ending overfishing and pollution in all its forms, as well as preventing further loss of biodiversity, ecosystems and habitats, are essential measures within our reach.

There is an urgent need for the political class to act accordingly and protect the ocean. The next decade is imperative.

 

For decades, the ocean has protected us from the impacts of climate change, absorbing 90 percent of the excess heat produced by global warming. It’s given us food and the genetic resources we use to produce life-saving drugs. As if that weren’t enough, it’s enabled millions of families to thrive in an economy based on its bounty.

Despite its importance, the ocean remains unprotected in large part; no country governs the high seas, international waters that comprise 64 percent of the ocean’s total surface area.  Management measures have given rise to a patchwork of uncoordinated protections.

But efforts to care more for our ocean are gaining steam. Negotiations are underway for an international legally binding treaty that seeks to protect life in the high seas. I’ve been involved in the negotiations since they began. AIDA is a member of the High Seas Alliance, which is actively participating in the process; we are also the only Latin American organization represented at the meetings.

Last month I participated in the third meeting of the United Nations Preparatory Committee, which is developing elements of a draft text for a treaty under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

During that meeting, government representatives from throughout the region actively expressed the need for a strong treaty. The next meeting, July 10-21, is expected to develop recommendations that will hopefully lead to an Intergovernmental Conference to negotiate the treaty’s content.

Among other things, the treaty will support the creation and management of Marine Protected Areas, regions of the high seas that will be conserved to help protect the rich biodiversity of our oceans.

Protection at a high cost

In addition to absorbing a large part of the planet’s excess heat, the ocean absorbs nearly 30 percent of all greenhouse gases. But this protective role comes with serious consequences.

By interacting with and absorbing pollutants such as carbon dioxide, the ocean suffers from acidification—a phenomenon that reduces levels of calcium, an element necessary for the formation of shells—and loss of oxygen, essential for life under the sea.

These impacts consequently affect the food supply and employment in the fishing and tourism industries.

In light of the Paris Climate Agreement, and of the negotiation of this new treaty for the high seas, governments around the world can and must do more to protect marine ecosystems from the impacts of climate change.

Marine Protected Areas

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has called on governments to protect 30 percent of the ocean through such conservation measures as the establishment of Marine Protected Areas.

Two years ago, one of the smallest countries on the planet, Palau, took a big step toward realizing this goal.

Recognizing the benefits of a fully protected marine reserve, the North Pacific island nation designated 80 percent of its marine territory (an area the size of Spain) as a reserve in which trawling, mining, and other harmful extractive activities are forbidden.

Palau’s decision protects the nearly 1,300 marine species and 700 varieties of coral that call this small corner of the world home.

In Latin America, countries such as Chile, Ecuador, and Costa Rica have followed Palau’s example by safeguarding waters within their national territories. While their intentions are noble, they should also include the high seas.

Building on the momentum of marine conservation around the world, the high seas treaty must be developed, and our oceans better protected.

In the ten-plus years I’ve worked as an environmental attorney, I have learned a valuable lesson: all of the life that surrounds us comes from the ocean.

It’s time to care for it as well as it cares for us. 

By Gladys Martínez

This month I’m celebrating my tenth anniversary with AIDA. For a decade now, I’ve been working for environmental justice and realizing one of my lifelong dreams: defending that which has no voice.

In all this time, my best clients have been the oceans and their coasts.

Experience has taught me that life depends on the oceans. That’s why I was happy to spend my anniversary working to create a new treaty to protect life in the high seas.

The high seas are considered international waters, and because they belong to no country, there is no legal protection for the plants and animals that call them home.

A treaty that provided that protection would give a second chance to the oceans and to those who most depend on them: all of us.

Time for reflection

Throughout my career as an environmental attorney, I’ve worked to limit the negative impacts of illegal and excessive fishing. On behalf of AIDA, and in alliance with our partner organizations, I’ve used international law to promote sustainable fishing and the conservation of wetlands, mangroves, and coral reefs. 

During the last several years I’ve had the honor of working beside Sandra Moguel, AIDA’s marine attorney in Mexico.  Because of Sandra’s dedication and leadership, we’ve been able to preserve Mexico’s ocean, coastline and the communites threatened by short-sighted development.

Sandra recently moved on from AIDA to work with our partners at the Mexican Center for Environmental Law (CEMDA), as Director of their Southeast Regional Office. Though I, and all of us at AIDA, will miss having her by our side, her new position fills me with great hope for Mexico, and the fight to defend the country’s rich environmental heritage.

Sandra’s work to protect Mexico’s coastal wetlands, rivers, and oceans will not soon be forgotten. We will build upon her successes and continue the fight to preserve our region’s waters and defend the communities that depend upon them.

A new hope

That fight took me most recently to New York City, with the High Seas Alliance, to assist in the development of the high seas treaty.

This year I’ve participated in two sessions of the treaty’s Preparatory Committee, alongside State representatives and civil society. We aim to complete the agreement within two years. It will be implemented under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

As a representative of AIDA, the only Latin American organization involved in the treaty’s planning meetings, I’m working to ensure the high seas recieve the same protections as the national waters we’ve fought so long to defend.

The high seas treaty is a truly collaborative effort that holds great hope for the protection of our planet’s international waters.

Responsible to my region 

As a Costa Rican, I feel a responsibility to care for the natural heritage of Latin America.

I also believe in the importance of creating marine reserves in international waters. Doing so would reduce the pressure of fishing on marine resources, create a more balanced environment, and ease the stress ecosystems and their inhabitants face when adapting to climate change.

The international waters that surround our region are blessed with many areas of great importance to the high seas, known as “ecologically significant areas.” They are:

• The Costa Rican Dome. Located in the Pacific Ocean, the Dome is constantly changing location depending on the wind and ocean currents. It houses breeding, feeding, and birthing zones for tuna, blue whales, sharks, dolphins, sea turtles, and many other species.
• The White Shark Café. Located in the international waters of the Pacific Ocean, between the Baja California Peninsula and Hawaii, the area is a key meeting place for white sharks, a species in great danger, which gather there after leaving the coasts of Mexico and Florida.
• The Sala y Gomez and Nazca Ridges. Stretching for more than 3,000 kilometers through the southeast Pacific, the ridges extend beyond Chilean waters, where they are protected by the State. Offshore sections remain unprotected, despite the fact that they contain some of the highest levels of marine biodiversity in the world. The ridges shelter blue whales, leatherback sea turtles, swordfish, and Chilean mackerel, among other species. Most of the underwater mountains are still found in their natural state, making protection paramount.
• The Atlantic Equatorial Fracture Zone. Located between Brazil and the Guinea Basin, this fracture zone belongs to no country. It is a source of food and energy for different species of fish (among them yellowfin tuna, bigeye tuna, and swordfish), as well as for green and leatherback sea turtles.

Protecting the high seas is vital to providing a safe space for the feeding, breeding, and growth of many important marine species.

As I look forward to another 10 years, my dream remains the same as it ever was: working to protect these great creatures and the waters they call home; giving them a voice; and advocating for the preservation of our region’s greatest natural treasures.

By Gladys Martínez, AIDA senior attorney

During Semana Santa, my family and I visited the Las Baulas National Marine Park in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. A clearly committed park ranger there told us about the threats sea turtles face when they spawn on the coast, and of the importance of protecting the beaches and avoiding poorly built development projects.

But what most caught my attention was the curiosity of my two children, ages three and five, asking how far the turtles had to swim to lay their eggs. “If they get lost, do the baby turtles not get born?” they asked.

For most of us, the answer to their question is a mystery. And from that mystery comes the importance of protecting life in the high seas, those international waters that belong to no country and are therefore part of the global commons.

What happens in the high seas, far past what we can see and care for from the coast, motivates the 33 NGOS and 193 delegations of the United Nations currently meeting in New York. Over the course of two weeks, they’re working to create a legally binding agreement that conserves marine life in areas beyond any national jurisdiction.

The agreement will be implemented under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

AIDA is the only NGO from Latin America that is present at the First Session of the Preparatory Committee, which seeks to create the new treaty within two years. As part of the High Seas Alliance, and with support from the Pew Charitable Trusts, we are working to bring the voice of Latin American civil society to the negotiations. 

Alongside other member organizations of the High Seas Alliance, we are advocating for the new treaty to include the following principles:

1. Protection and preservation of the marine environment of the high seas.
2. Cooperation between States to conserve the living resources of the high seas.
3. Use of the best available scientific information in decision-making.
4. Good management of high seas resources, guaranteeing them for present and future generations.
5. Implementation of the precautionary principle, according to which the absence of information cannot constitute an excuse for the failure to protect the ecosystems of the high seas.
6. Management based on large-scale planning that takes into account the interrelation of marine biodiversity.
7. Sustainability and equity in reference to the possibility of using resources to meet the needs of present generations, while protecting the needs of future generations. Special attention should be given to the interests of and benefits to developing countries.
8. Good governance (transparency, public participation and access to review procedures and resources).
9. “Polluter pays,” a principle that implies that States causing pollution must take responsibility for it.
10. Compliance with and respect for the commitments made under UNCLOS.

Additionally, we consider it of vital importance that States establish marine protected areas, beyond national jurisdictions, to guarantee the conservation of marine biodiversity.

At AIDA, we look with great hope and enthusiasm for the commitments of the States during this first leg of the long road ahead. We know that after these two years of negotiations, we will successfully emerge with a treaty that protects the marine biodiversity that belongs to us all—that rich life that lives in the greatest part of our seas.

Thank you for supporting us as we continue to work towards this goal! 

 

“My mom is the best lawyer in the world because she defends the turtles, the corals, the salted forests they have in the sea, and alllll the fish.”

As I listened to my 4-year-old daughter, Daniela, say this to an auditorium full of parents, boy and girls, my eyes filled with tears and my heart filled with love and happiness.  Listening to my little girl brag about what her mother does renewed my strength and enables me to continue working passionately.

Daniela summed up quite well my work on AIDA’s team of attorneys in the Marine and Coastal Protection Program. My colleagues and I focus on three key areas: coral reefs, mangroves and fisheries. We use national and international standards to support marine ecosystems and the people who depend upon them.

Coral Reefs

We know that by protecting coral reefs, we’re preserving natural barriers that protect coastal communities from storms and hurricanes—which are growing ever stronger due to climate change. We’re also conscious that the many varieties of fish we enjoy on our dinner table exist only because of the important breeding grounds that corals provide.

Mangroves

Mangroves, or “salted forests” as my daughter calls them, are swampy forests that exist in lakes, rivers and tropical coasts where fresh river water mixes with saltwater from the sea. My colleagues and I are determined to safeguard these ecosystems because we know they are our greatest allies. Mangroves capture from the atmosphere 50 times more carbon dioxide than tropical forests. They are also an important food source for birds, and a center of breeding and development for shrimp, crab and some fish, which provide a livelihood for coastal communities. One example of these unique ecosystems is Marismas Nacionales, the largest mangrove forest in Mexico, which we’re currently fighting to protect.

Fishing

Conscious that ecosystems are interrelated and reliant upon each other, we work to create sustainable fisheries. If we care for one fish, the rest of the fish will also benefit. We hope that future generations will also be able to taste a fish from the sea, not just observe one in a photograph. We have seen that adopting appropriate measures has allowed fish populations to recover, as occurred with the hoki in New Zealand, the anchoveta in Spain and France, and the cod in the northern Atlantic ocean.

Every day I appreciate and enjoy the privilege my children, Daniela and Agustín, have to run through a forest, stick their feet in the ocean and feel the movement of little fish between their toes, or marvel at their first glimpse of a magnificent butterfly or a towering tree. In these moments, I reaffirm the words my parents said one day to my husband and me: “Many good memories outside are worth much more than many toys in the house.”

At AIDA we are 26 people working throughout the continent with dedication and commitment. We do it for Daniela and Agustín, and for the rest of the little boys and girls who are part of our organization: Amber, Esteban and Eloísa, Constanza, Jared, Isabelle and Caroline, Izabela, Paloma, Marc and Rosalie.

We work for our children and for all children, so that current and future generations have the opportunity to enjoy a healthy environment.

Thank you for supporting our work!

By Gladys Martínez

Significant strides were taken last week toward the conservation of loggerhead sea turtles. A new international resolution intends to strengthen protections for this endangered species in the Americas, and outlines the primary threats facing loggerheads, including mining, all of which should be regulated to avoid harm.

The resolution was approved during the 7^th Conference of Parties to the Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles (CIT), hosted last week in Mexico City. One of just seven species of sea turtle in the world, the loggerhead turtle is threatened by human activities such as unsustainable fishing, poorly planned development and extractive industries. 

AIDA was an actor and an observer in the conference, representing other organizations and individuals from civil society. My colleagues and I spoke with delegates and raised awareness of the harm that marine phosphate mining could cause to loggerheads, and to the ecosystem as a whole.

We drew attention to the potential impacts of the Don Diego mining project in Bahia de Ulloa, Baja California Sur. The region’s first marine phosphate mine would, if executed, gravely impact populations of loggerhead turtles and other species that live in or migrate through Baja waters.

I am pleased to report that I successfully advocated for the resolution to include mining on the list of threats to loggerheads.

We also used our knowledge of international environmental law to help strengthen proposals within the resolution, and to make member States aware that immediate action is required for the conservation of the species.

Details of the Loggerhead Resolution

In the resolution, member States recognize that threats to the loggerhead turtle include development, coastal and deep-water fishing, marine debris, mining, pollution and climate change. The nations promise to work together to implement existing recovery plans for loggerhead populations, as well as to develop new plans in countries that still have not created them.

They made the following commitments:

• Mexico and the United States will work together with Japan to develop a Trinational Recovery Plan for loggerhead turtles in the North Pacific.
• Chile, Ecuador, Peru and the United States will work with the Secretariat Pro Tempore of the Sea Turtle Convention and the Secretariat of the Convention on Migratory Species to implement a Species Action Plan for loggerhead turtles in the South Pacific.
• Mexico and the United States will continue working with collaborating countries of the North Atlantic to share information about the situation and tendencies of the loggerhead turtle of the Northeast Atlantic, and to identify collaborative conservation actions.

A Report on the Conference

Overall, I am quite satisfied with the advances achieved at this conference. I consider it a privilege to participate, and an honor to effectively contribute our knowledge and experience to conventions such as this, where decisions are made at an international level, and then taken back and implemented in each participating country.

Another result of the Conference is the increased protection of the leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) of the Western Pacific. Member States approved a resolution in which they committed to:

• Deliver information annually to the Secretariat of the Convention on leatherback turtle bycatch taken by their fleets.
• Annually inform the Secretariat of measures that are being adopted to reduce bycatch.
• Identify, with the help of the Scientific Committee, critical areas and fisheries that require spatial and temporal management to reduce bycatch.
• Strengthen actions for the protection of leatherback turtles eggs.
• Establish and evaluate national programs for handling and releasing leatherback turtles taken as bycatch in fisheries.

We trust that the States will transform these international commitments into effective actions for the conservation of sea turtles. At AIDA, we will remain vigilant to ensure these promises become reality. 

By Gladys Martínez

When baby sea turtles first break through their shells, they slowly stick their heads out into the world. Then, they run as fast as they can to the vast body of salt water before them, where they will spend their lives.

Sea turtles are migratory creatures that swim in the oceans, and nest on the beaches, of many different countries. Their survival is at risk from the impacts of human activity, such as unsustainable fishing, poorly planned development, and mining projects in marine and coastal areas.

In an effort to confront these threats, the Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles was created in 2001. The international treaty promotes the protection, conservation and recovery of sea turtle populations.

From June 24 to 26 in Mexico City, representatives from member States will discuss achievements and plan for the future of the Convention during the 7^th Conference of Parties. AIDA will be there advocating for the States to continue meeting their obligations and making new commitments.

Fifteen Contracting Parties have signed the Convention: Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Netherlands (Antilles), Panama, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela and the United States. Thirty-two accredited observers, including academic institutions and NGOs, may participate in meetings of Scientific and Consultative committees of experts. 

The 7^th Conference of the Parties will focus on adopting three key resolutions, on:

• The conservation of leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys Coriacea) in the Pacific Ocean.
• The conservation of loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta Caretta).
• Exceptions to the subsistence harvest of olive ridley turtle eggs in Costa Rica.

The Conference will also review the States’ compliance with regards to their annual reports, present the Secretariat’s work plan, and elect a new President, Vice President and Rapporteur. 

AIDA will seek for the States to:

• Commit to avoiding threats to turtle nesting habitats by mining projects.
• Continue restricting and prohibiting developments that affect sea turtle migration routes.
• Strengthen measures for responsible fishing and bycatch (sea turtles are captured and killed incidentally by fishermen targeting other species).

We will concentrate our outreach efforts on creating awareness and promoting measures to curb the risks that the Don Diego marine mining project will have on the loggerhead turtle and Mexico’s marine ecosystem.

AIDA has worked since 1998 to protect sea turtles. First we advocated the Convention’s ratification. A campaign organized by AIDA and other sea turtle advocates helped secure the signatures necessary to continue the negotiation process, and, in 2011, for the Convention to enter into force.

We have advocated before Courts and decision-makers for the protection of sea turtles in several countries of Latin America, basing our advocacy on the obligations assumed by States under the Convention.

Using this strategy, we have protected the green turtle from illegal poaching on Costa Rica’s Atlantic coast, avoided loss of nesting habitat of the leatherback turtle, and guaranteed that hawksbill and olive ridley turtles continue to enjoy one of their favorite coral reefs, Coiba National Park in Panama.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to learn more about the 7^th Conference of Parties of the international treaty to protect sea turtles! 

We all must leave a legacy, my grandfather said. For him – beyond being loving husbands and wives, committed parents, responsible children, faithful friends and fulfilled workers – that means contributing something to the benefit of humankind.

The wise words of my grandfather guide my professional life. In nine years of working with AIDA, I have had the great pleasure of seeing progress made on cases we’ve worked on throughout Latin America. These successes give me the energy to go the extra mile whenever necessary. Many times, however, I’ve felt the frustration of seeing so many people and places that need our help, and not having the financial or human resources to do so.

If you agree that there is nothing more valuable than contributing to building a better world, and a more habitable place for future generations, then I have a suggestion for you: Please support AIDA’s work by making a donation!

5 Reasons to Support Our Work

To enable you to make an informed decision, here are five reasons why supporting our work is an excellent idea:

1. We are an international nonprofit organization with more than 15 years of experience in service to one fundamental mission: to use the law to protect the environment of the Americas, with a focus on Latin America. "Protecting our right to a healthy environment" is the motto that guides our actions.

2. We are a group of Latin American attorneys who work with commitment. Our experience enables us to develop strategies before international bodies and organizations to ensure that the States comply with their environmental and human rights obligations.
3. We work in partnership with national organizations, strengthening and complimenting their efforts. We firmly believe in public participation and capacity building to achieve greater impact and results over the long term. We share our knowledge with the partners and communities with whom we closely work.
4. We take the great care when investing our funds. We work efficiently and effectively. We carefully select cases that will set a legal precedent and serve as an example for environmental defense in the countries of the region.
5. Our work has a global impact, today and in the future. We work for the common good of all people: protecting vital resources like clean air and clean water.

We consider our donors an integral part of our team. Without your contribution, it would not be possible for us to provide free legal assistance to communities fighting to defend their natural environment and protect their basic rights.

With your support

We will continue ensuring the protection of marine and coastal resources, the preservation of fresh water, effective responses to climate change, and the human right to a healthy environment.

Helping us is simple and safe: You can do it right here!

THANK YOU for believing in our work!

By Gladys Martínez, AIDA legal advisor

What could be better than a plate of ceviche or fried fish and patacones (plantain chips)?

OK, I must confess that I’m a sucker for seafood! And that’s why one of my favorite projects to come out of AIDA’s Marine Protection Program is the reportTools for Sustainable Fisheries and Coastal Management.

Like me, over 4.2 billion people get 15% of their proteins from seafood.

So you can see why it’s so important to put in place measures to encourage sustainable fishing and the conservation of marine biodiversity.

After more than 10 years of research, AIDA has taken a stab at this. We have developed an 11-chapter report examining the plight of our oceans and the causes behind a crisis in the fishing industry. The report looks at what we can do to limit the impacts of the crisis, and it offers case studies drawing on comparative law and detailing the international obligations that states have to protect and conserve our oceans and their biodiversity. The report also explores the regulatory framework for marine conservation.

We look at the various regulatory instruments that countries use to try to control fishing. These include programs for reducing the number of fishing boat licenses, seizing vessels, retraining industry workers and reducing long-haul fishing times, or the amount of time that this technique can be practiced at any given time. Specific mention is paid to the “bycatch” phenomenon, or when fishing methods fail to discriminate between a targeted species and others caught in the process. Recommendations are offered on how to scale back this damaging practice.

We also explore the advantages of using marine protected areas (MPAs) as a conservation tool. Different MPAs are discussed, as defined by the type of protected ecosystem and their classification by international bodies like United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature. We describe MPAs in Brazil, Costa Rica and Mexico, and we offer suggestions for protecting our ocean resources with transnational MPAs. We also examine the differences between fishing reserves and protected areas where fishing is banned. 

As responsible fishing has so much potential to make a real impact, the report also gets into the main economic instruments that if designed and implemented effectively could promote the protection, renewal, preservation and sustainable use of our marine resources. These instruments can be divided into three categories: market- based (fish certification and eco-labeling), tax based (green taxes, rights and subsidies) and financial (creating funds and loans).

The report also looks at the socio-environmental issues of the fishing industry. These issues are hugely important because a large percentage of the world population relies on fishing for jobs, food security and a potential way out of poverty. We examine how things stand in the industry and look at its problems of endemic poverty and tough working conditions.

Tools for Sustainable Fisheries and Coastal Management is a study of aquaculture in the Americas, from its environmental impact to the risk to human health and the alternative methods that could be used. Examples are taken from different countries across the continent and the world to illustrate what works and what doesn’t.

The report is concise. It explains the bare minimum we need to develop aquaculture while still reducing its impact. Of these essentials are the adequate zoning of projects and targeted species, the development of suitable techniques for feeding fish and disposing of waste, and ensuring that states monitor the industry properly. New techniques such as polyculture, inland saline cultivation and environmental certification are potential alternatives to mainstream fishing methods that have less impact on humans and the environment.

I don’t know about you, but I want to keep eating seafood and I want my descendents to also share in this simple pleasure without feeling guilty. The future can often look bleak, but after reading AIDA’s report, I’m inclined to think that this desire of mine is a real possibility. So if you like what we do and you think you can help, please donate!