Reef Brigades: Rapid Response & Emergency Reef Repair in Quintana Roo, Mexico

In 2020, the Mexican Caribbean was hit by Tropical Storm Cristobal and three major hurricanes (Gamma, Delta, and Zeta), damaging coral reefs in Quintana Roo. The region was prepared to respond to the reef damage thanks to the post-storm response capacity established by the Quintana Roo Government, the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP), the Center for Research on Aquaculture and Fisheries (CRIAP - INAPESCA), and the local community, with support from The Nature Conservancy. The Reef Brigades – 53 trained first responders from the community – implemented the Early Warning and Rapid Response Protocol after Hurricane Delta in October 2020. During this webinar, we learned about post-storm response capacity building, including the hands-on Reef Brigades training, governance structure, and financial mechanisms needed for a response effort of this magnitude. The team in Mexico shared their post-storm response results, and we heard more about a train-the-trainer course. The webinar was followed by a question-and-answer period. This webinar will be in Spanish, with live English language interpretation.