Corporate Partnerships
The Coca-Cola Company Partnership
Mesoamerican Reef
Facts
The Lagoon of Seven Colors Mesoamerican Coral Reef, Quintana Roo, Mexico.
© WWF-Canon/Robert DE JONGH
- The Mesoamerican Reef is the longest barrier reef in the world. The Mesoamerican Reef basins are numerous small watersheds that drain from Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras into the reef.
- The Motagua and Polochic Rivers in Guatemala, where WWF and Coca-Cola are already working together, are two of the main contributors of sediment and organic pollutants that are threatening the Reef.
- The reef stretches nearly 700 miles and is home to 500 species of fish, including the massive whale shark, the largest fish in the world. The reef serves as an important habitat to endangered sea turtles, manatees and crocodiles.
- The reef's immense size provides an important defense against storms and coastal erosion.
Conservation Issues
- The Motagua's water levels and quality have significantly declined recently, particularly during the dry season.
- The greatest threats to the river are deforestation, forest fires, cattle ranching and agricultural expansion.
- The Motagua-Polochic river system is home to more than a third of all mammals and reptiles known in Guatemala and Belize, including many endangered species such as howler monkeys, jaguars and harpy eagles.
What the Partnership Will Do
- Establish the Motogua-Polochic Water Fund to provide payment to upstream water resource users to protect the quality and quantity of these resources for downstream users.
- Protect a migratory bird corridor between Sierra del Las Minas and Bocas del Polochic
- Engage in settlement relocation efforts.
- Eliminate illegal logging operations.
- Organize groups of volunteers to stop forest fires and improve regional fire-fighting capacity.
- Educate communities to improve water use practices.
