EL UNIVERSAL wins second place in Solutions Journalism Awards for Gulf of California investigation

Mexico's EL UNIVERSAL newspaper secured second place in the 2024-25 Solutions Journalism Network Awards, earning recognition in the Journalistic Article category. The award celebrated the newspaper's investigation titled "From scarcity to abundance: the sea as a source of prosperity."

The winning report focused on Cabo Pulmo, a small village in Baja California Sur. Once reliant on fishing, the community abandoned nets in the mid-1990s. This decision led to the remarkable recovery of its coral reef ecosystem. Today, Cabo Pulmo thrives on diving, sustainable tourism, and local services, attracting approximately 40,000 visitors annually.

The journalistic piece detailed Cabo Pulmo's development as a conservation model that fosters social and economic well-being. It also examined the challenges and potential for replicating this success in other areas of the Gulf of California through the concept of Marine Prosperity Areas (MPAs).

Furthermore, the investigation presented 10 other stories of resilience along the gulf's coasts. These narratives illustrate how various communities are confronting the depletion of marine resources and the impacts of climate change through organized efforts, ancestral knowledge, and collective work. The Solutions Journalism Network Awards recognize news that showcases creative and resilient approaches to addressing global problems.

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represent a completely different way of understanding the news, not as a mechanism primarily for narrating the world's problems, but also as a window into the creativity and resilience of people in trying to address them.