Oceans provide 80% of the oxygen we breathe and provide food and income for more than three billion people worldwide. On World Wetland Day, Mary Kay Inc., a global leader in corporate sustainability and eco-responsibility, has made a renewed commitment with The Nature Conservancy to preserve the precious wetlands that line—and protect—our coasts.
Mary Kay’s partnership with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) began in 1990. In the decades since then, they’ve combined forces to engage Indigenous peoples in sustainable aquaculture in New Zealand, secure fresh water for people in Mexico, clean up our oceans, and save species and empower women in the Solomon Islands. Their latest project with TNC, which kicked off in 2019, focused on the preservation and enhancement of wetlands.
“Coastal wetlands provide the trifecta of climate wins: carbon capture, adaptation to sea-level rise, and increased resiliency to storms and flooding, all while supporting local and national economies,” said Deborah Gibbins, Chief Operating Officer at Mary Kay Inc. “Unfortunately, Texas—Mary Kay’s home state—has lost more than half of its coastal wetlands in the past 200 years to habitat conversion, overgrazing and development. On World Wetlands Day, Mary Kay is recommitting its efforts to protecting our wetlands to benefit generations to come.”
“Each spring, as hundreds of species of birds make the taxing flight across the Gulf from Latin and South America, the coast’s wetlands provide critical stopover grounds for them to rest and refuel before continuing their journey,” said Lauren Williams, Texas Resilient Coast Program Director at The Nature Conservancy. “As the state’s population has swelled, the Gulf Coast has become prime real estate for people as much as it has for wildlife. Through our partnership with Mary Kay, we’re committed to supporting growth along the coast that is sustainable for the economy, the environment, and the wildlife species that depend on it.”
Together, Mary Kay and TNC will work toward the following objectives to protect our wetlands over the next year:
- Identify priority wetland areas for protection and restoration across more than 27,000 kilometers of shoreline along the Gulf of Mexico
- Produce a Coastal Conservation and Restoration Action Plan for Texas’ three blue carbon ecosystems—mangroves, salt marsh and seagrass—including mapping areas where we expect wetlands will migrate in the future due to climate change
- Assess the feasibility of blue carbon markets to support long-term wetland management needs in Texas
- Identify a dynamic coastal wetland site that can be established as a “living laboratory” to share conservation techniques, explore blue carbon offsets and highlight the importance of these critical ecosystems
- Build momentum, partnerships and capacity for coastal restoration in Texas to continue this work into the future
“The key is working in tandem with not only The Nature Conservancy, but with nature itself,” added Gibbins. “We must adapt the built environment to increase the resilience of both human and natural systems. Mary Kay has a foundational belief of making the world a better place—and there’s no better place to start than at home.”
To read more about Mary Kay’s commitment to sustainability, visit marykayglobal.com/sustainability and download Mary Kay’s global sustainability strategy, Enriching Lives Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow.