A Community Saves its Seas

The Pearl Islands are a biodiversity paradise off the Pacific coast of Panama. The warm, quiet waters are a vital stop for the migratory patterns of many bird and marine species, including several varieties of endangers sea turtles.

Sustainable fishing has been a part of island life for centuries, but when industrial fishing fleets began overfishing the waters in recent decades, fish stocks and marine wildlife populations were severely threatened. Local residents teamed up with biologist Callie Veelenturf to propose—and pass—a new national law that grants legal rights to nature itself.