Mesoamérica Foundation

One of our first collaborations was with Charles Duller of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.  Dr. Duller authorized the use of LandSat satellites to begin a program to study from space the entire Mesoamerican Culture Area (MCA), consisting of both the Yucatan peninsula and western Maya highlands, from Chiapas south through Guatemala and El Salvador.  This collaboration resulted, in 1990, in Dr. Duller, along with Dr. Kevin Pope and Dr. Adriana Ocampo, to propose Chicxulub as the impact site for a meteor believed to be responsible for mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous and the beginning of the Tertiary ages.

A year before Dr. Duller and his colleagues proposed Chicxulub as the impact site, our scientific contributions were recognized in a report by John Noble Wilford in the New York Times.  That article, the first to report that acid rain falling on the Yucatan peninsula and much of southern Mexico was fast bringing destruction to the temples, colorful murals and haunting megaliths of the ancient Maya civilization, galvanized efforts to protect the Maya cultural patrimony to humanity throughout the region.  It made news around the world and launched initiatives to protect tropical habitats from acidic precipitation.

In the two decades since then, our efforts have since continued, working to protect the jaguars, orchids, sea turtles and breeding grounds of the flamingo.  Throughout this time, stories about various aspects of conservation programs are disseminated throughout the world by the media.  Representative of these stories is the one about the marine sea turtles, which can be read by clicking on the New America Media icon to the left.

In the 2008-2010 timeframe, we are actively supporting various programs in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, southern Campeche State and along the aquifers north of the resort of Cancun to protect the natural sources of drinking water for the northeastern portion of the peninsula.  In 2009 we will launch a composting program for Merida, the peninsula’s largest city, and consolidate efforts to protect the critical habitats for migratory birds.

We are proud that our work continues to be widely disseminated through the media, using contemporary means, such as YouTube (see below), to educate the world’s youth.

Juvenile hawksbill feeding on Geodia neptuni sponge

We invite you to write to us. 

With your support, we will be able to continue to use science to protect the biodiversity of this part of the world.

We invite you to join us.  Become a Green Member of Mesoamérica Foundation today.