In a huge win for the environment, Mexico’s government just announced the creation of a massive marine reserve in an area known as the ‘Galapagos of North America.’ Aimed at protecting and preserving the precious environment around the Revillagigedo Archipelago near Baja California, the Illinois-sized reserve will be the largest of its kind for the continent.
The 57,143-square-mile reserve will go a long way towards protecting the humpbacks, migratory birds, rays, turtles, endangered fish and coral reefs that call the area home. With the designation, all hotel construction, fishing, and mining are banned. The reserve sits 242 miles south-west of the Baja California peninsula and contains four volcanic islands and a submerged volcanic mountain range.
Related: We created enough marine reserves last year to cover Texas and Alaska combined
President Enrique Pena Nieto made the announcement on Friday, pushing back against significant opposition from the commercial fishing industry, saying that Mexico is reaffirming its “commitment to the preservation of the heritage of Mexico and the world”. The area will be policed by the Mexican Navy, a move that helps to silence critics that say marine reserves aren’t adequately patrolled.
It’s worth noting that while Mexico is making a commitment to protecting priceless places, Trump is considering shrinking the Rose Atoll and the Pacific Remote Islands, two national monuments that could be opened to fishing.
Con el Decreto del Parque Nacional Revillagigedo, el @gobmx reafirma su compromiso con la conservación del patrimonio de @Mexico y el mundo. pic.twitter.com/RNfTruK6XM
— Enrique Peña Nieto (@EPN) November 25, 2017
Via The Guardian
Lead image via Deposit Photos, image via Wikimedia
