Mexico has it all: there’s the lush Lacondan Jungle of Chiapas. The towering saguaros of the Sonoran desert. A thin border of twisting, knotted mangroves protecting against the worst ravages of storms. The tropical pine-oak forests found high in Oaxaca’s Sierra Madre. Colorful Caribbean reefs teeming with aquatic life. Even a few delicate patches of alpine meadow remain on the volcanic peaks near Mexico City. That’s part of why Mexico is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world: though it covers only 1.3% of the world’s landmass, it is home to more than 10% of all species on Earth.
For this piece, I wrote about the natural protected areas created to conserve that incredible biodiversity and made interactive graphics with Google Flourish to accompany the story. The result offers a window into the challenges Mexican reserves face as they balance the competing goals of conservation and economic development.