The stories “Guardians of the Sea: Yucatecan Women Protect What the Mexican Government Has Forgotten”, “Fileteras, the Invisible Link in the Fishing Chain” and “Real Estate Expansion Threatens Mayan Salt Flats on the Yucatán Coast”, published by Causa Natura Media, offer an in-depth look at the socio-environmental challenges facing the Yucatán coast and the fundamental role of local communities in defending their territories and livelihoods.

Through investigative journalism with a human focus, these pieces document realities often overlooked by public policies and development narratives: the work of women protecting marine ecosystems in the face of institutional absence, the invisible contribution of fileteras within the fishing economy, and the threats that real estate expansion poses to an ancestral activity such as Mayan salt production.

Together, these stories broaden our understanding of the environmental, economic, and cultural impacts affecting coastal communities on the peninsula. Their scope transcends the local by bringing to light issues related to environmental justice, gender equity, the conservation of natural resources, and the protection of biocultural heritage. By amplifying historically marginalized voices and highlighting the tensions between economic development, sustainability, and community rights, these reports help strengthen public debate and raise awareness about the need for development models that are more inclusive and respectful of local territories.

Itzel Chan was the reporter leading the special coverage of these investigations on the Yucatan coast. This is what she told us:

Among the reporting projects conducted by Causa Natura on socio-environmental issues, there are three stories that have had a significant impact at the regional and national levels in Mexico, but also among communities.

One focused on a community-based monitoring initiative led by women along the Yucatan coast. By sustaining this research effort over time, authorities finally took notice of the work these women are doing, and a community-led working committee has now been established, which led to the signing of a working agreement between the communities and the institutions. 

The other impact was the creation of an official registry of women fisherfolk and fish filleters in Yucatán, which brought their work into the spotlight. Although they have been engaged in this activity for many years, their work was not previously recognized as legitimate work deserving of compensation. In this case, the media served as a channel to share this story and draw attention to the work of these women.

The third story was about a project to build a drinking water network to supply a new hotel area. We found that the construction of this network would damage ancestral salt flats in the community—that is, natural salt flats that have existed for many years. The impact and scope of the story we published were so significant that the project was ultimately shut down.

My background comes from working in traditional media or outlets more focused on daily news; doing these in-depth stories has allowed me to specialize in socio-environmental issues and to focus more on ensuring that the stories truly have a beneficial impact on communities.

Living and reporting in the field rather than from the capital or the center of power also makes a difference. It fueled my curiosity and reinforced my sense of identity as a woman, as I witnessed women carving out spaces that have historically been dominated by men. So, starting from there, I said, “This is an excellent story because fishing is typically associated with men.”

So, the fact that women—and fishermen, at that—are conducting coastal surveillance with their own resources is an interesting story. My editor told me, ‘The story is a bit cliché, but we have to find a way to approach the topic,’ and we did. Then people were surprised by the story of these women.

Work methodology is very important, as is planning—creating work plans with specific themes, clear objectives, having a structure, a timeline, using digital tools, accessing databases that we had to break down, and using interactive maps. Furthermore, this research took time and a lot of work, including requests for information, reaching out to communities, and working with an editor who helped us organize the research, analyze the data, and curate the texts. This led us to design an impact model or matrix to identify our learnings and assess the scope of our work.