Biocultural Coastal Conservation | Ancestral Tides with Juan Carlos Cruz

What is biocultural coastal conservation — and why does it matter for the future of our oceans? In this episode, conservation scientist Juan Carlos Cruz of the Amazon Conservation Team explains how Indigenous knowledge and Western marine science are being woven together through the Ancestral Tides initiative.

Across Costa Rica, Panama, Mexico, Colombia, and Suriname, coastal Indigenous and local communities are protecting sea turtles, coral reefs, mangroves, and critical nesting beaches using community-based conservation strategies. This work combines biological monitoring, sea turtle tagging, hatchery protection, GPS tracking, fisher partnerships, and livelihood-based conservation — all grounded in ancestral knowledge systems.

We explore:

• What biocultural conservation actually means

• Why sea turtles are biocultural keystone species

• How Indigenous-led conservation strengthens marine ecosystems

• The connection between coral reefs, fisheries, and food security

• How land and sea conservation must work together

Sea turtles migrate thousands of kilometers across oceans — linking forests, beaches, reefs, and coastal communities. Protecting them requires protecting the full ecological and cultural system they move through.

This conversation highlights a growing global shift: conservation that centers community leadership, respects traditional knowledge, and recognizes that protecting biodiversity also means protecting culture.

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Special thanks to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for sponsoring this episode.

Episode Guests: Juan Carlos Cruz

Visit the Amazon Conservation Team website

Visit the Ancestral Tidesw webpage

Review the Ancestral Tides Annual Report

Episode Transcript  and more information on the Pine Forest Media website

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Hosted, produced, and edited by Clark Marchese 

Cover art by Jomiro Eming

Theme music by Nela Ruiz

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