Support and assistance to kids and teenagers at-risk.
Raíz Viva is a Hurakaan assistance campaign to support minors at-risk, emerged from the work we develop with and for the community. At the end of 2023, we have strengthen bonds with DIF Solidariedade and Benito Juárez in Quintana Roo for the assistance to minors at-risk through workshops regarding Environmental Education and training for work.
The data from CONEVAL shows that in terms of unpaid labor, the population of Playa del Carmen and Tulum represents 71% man and 82% women, a very alarming data in an area where the tourism sector is prominent and generates 50% of national income in this category.
With the Environmental Education and labor training for minors at-risk, in Raiz Viva we teach teenagers what are the reefs, how to care and conserve the environment, the water and air quality, among other subjects. Complementing the labor training, Hurakaan Eco-Táctica takes the youth to the reefs so they can closely see the benefits that this system provides and understand how it works. This way, the kids can live from their goodness and also adopt better practices for the conservation and restoration of our ecosystem.
Through the Raiz Viva Training, which is provided to teenagers at-risk starting with 16 years old, Hurakaan Eco-Táctica seeks that reaching majority this young people will have the experience needed, being able to start careers as captains, divers and tourist guides. At this point, they will have 2 years of experience through boat practice, diving shops and allied tourism shops, which will grant them with formal and well-paid labor.
With all this, Hurakaan Eco-Táctica guarantee a different future to the minors at-risk that are part of Playa del Carmen and Tulum reef zone. Support Hurakaan so we can continue working with the community at-risk. Donate today, so we can reach more communities and add Tulum and Bacalar this year.
Change the future of minors at-risk now!
Change the future of at-risk youth now!
Coral restoration, environmental condition and hydric sanitation
This is an integral campaign with three lines of action and research for the same goal: understand the environmental condition of reef zones, understand and improve water quality, and support coral restoration.
In 2021, we started this program conducting physicochemical studies of the aquifer system across three different systems of water bodies in the Riviera Maya - from cenotes and underground rivers to the reef zones of Playa del Carmen and Tulum - in order to establish a connection between anthropogenic damage caused by untreated sewage and wastewater discharges, and their impact on coastal ecosystems, particularly the biodiversity of our coral reefs.
If we consider the ecosystem services and benefits provided by the reef, we can begin to understand the importance of its protection through permanent programs of conservation, restoration, and recovery.
Ecosystem Services of Coral Reefs
An irrevocable loss of coral reefs would be catastrophic. Even though reefs cover less than 1% of the ocean floor, they are home to more than a quarter of all marine species, which makes them a crucial habitat, making them the marine ecosystem with the greatest biodiversity.
Due to its hard, irregular and shallow structure, the coral reefs reduce wave energy by 97%, protecting coastlines from erosion and the strength of storms and hurricanes.
The reefs are refugee and reproduction zones for multiple marine species, are attraction for tourism, and provide coastal communities sources of employment and food.
Due to their huge biodiversity, coral reefs are living laboratories that have centered an extensive amount of medical and scientific research, providing knowledge for medicine development, such as treatments for cancer and HIV, among other diseases.
Diverse global threats, such as climate change and ocean acidification; and regional threats such as the massive coastal development, habitat destruction and contamination; have contributed to the degradation of coral reefs structure and functioning around the world.
The health of the Mesoamerican Reef System remains a concern, since the majority of the 286 monitored sites are in bad (39%) or critical (23%) conditions. However, sites in regular and good conditions have been improving, increasing from 20% to 28% and from 5% to 9%, respectively (Marfund, 2024).
At Hurakaan Eco-Táctica A.C. the promotion of actions to conserve, protect and restore Mexico’s natural ecosystems has been fundamental. For this reason, since 2021 we started to construct and develop environmental conservation programs and campaigns, addressing different areas such as environmental conditions (monitoring and evaluation of coral reefs), water sanitation (physicochemical studies of water in underground river systems and coral reefs), and coral restoration of priority species (Acropora palmata and A. cervicornis) for reef conservation. Many efforts and activities have been carried out in support of this goal, led by the campaignTejido AquaVidaCoral Restoration, Environmental Condition, and Water Sanitation.
What we have found in the sites we’ve monitored from 2021 to date:
Aquifer system (three cenotes) (results of the studies)
ONE
There are contaminated water bodies not only by residential wastewater, but also by agrochemicals, pesticides and heavy metals already received from different industries at the center of the peninsula.
TWO
There are also water bodies in good condition and good water quality that must be protected in order to avoid their contamination, repealing the bad practices of discharging untreated wastewater.
Solution with physicochemical technology and a success case.
THREE
THE GOOD NEWS
In 2022 we found a wastewater treatment plant based on physicochemical technology using zeolites, with which we conducted a test with the world's worst water to treat - the wastewater from pig farms - and in a continuous flow process, this WasteWater Treatment Plants ( WWTP) was able to bring the water to meet the new SEMARNAT NOM 001 standard within five hours. This was a success because if it can treat this water, it can treat any kind.
In addition to being a Mexican patent, they are WWTP that can be mobile, which makes the treatment easier in areas of difficult access or in natural areas protected where construction is not allowed.
The implementation of this technology would improve the water quality in the aquifer system, eliminate the need for black water trucks that do not guarantee proper treatment or responsible discharge, reduce energy costs by 80%, and, since it works without bacteria, there would be no need to hire specialists to manage bacterial health.
For all this reasons, we made it our task to start both private and public advocacy for the physicochemical zeolite WWTP.
Environmental Condition (Research Data) (Flor’s results).
FOUR
The monitoring conducted in the reef zones of Playa del Carmen and Tulum has allowed us to assess the environmental conditions of the ecosystem, identifying which priority species have survived high temperatures and diseases caused by bacteria and viruses.
The chemical studies allow us to identify the contaminants and nutrients moving in the zone, and the hydrodynamic studies have shown us the behavior of the currents throughout the year, during both rainy and dry seasons. This allow us to understand not only the health status but also the sudden changes in conditions caused by current shifts and other climatic and anthropogenic factors.
FIVE
Coral Restoration
With all the previous work, we have succeeded to move to the restoration phase, beginning this year with Phase 1, which will address the opportunity fragments of priority species found on the seafloor that are healthy but unstable and vulnerable because they are not secured to a structure.
We will address the sites marked in the polygons located in Playa del Carmen and Tulum, two areas where development has significantly impacted with the discharge of untreated sewage.
Once the work on the opportunity fragments is completed, we will move on to Phase 2, which consists in propagating more fragments provided by one of the coral nurseries in the area, which we are already evaluating in advance.
Hospedaje donado por NEUBOX INTERNET
