At the same time, we are experiencing global warming, which has led to sea-level rise in the system. If we also include human-made global warming, i.e., the use of oil, etc., in this mix, the problem becomes even more severe. A combination of these two global events, the decline of biodiversity and global warming, has the power to uproot people from their traditional places and livelihoods, as is happening along our southern border and elsewhere in the world. The loss of biodiversity fosters mass migrations of people because, due to substantial climate changes, their fields can no longer grow enough food not only for their families but also for their livestock and to sell at local markets. When governments cannot or will not address these issues, civil unrest boils over. We have seen much of this displacement across South America and elsewhere. 

The story of El Bosque, a fishing village in Tabasco on the Gulf of Mexico coast, is a well-documented case of a Mexican fishing community being overwhelmed by rising seas. El Bosque was a small fishing and coastal town in Centla, Tabasco, where many families had lived and worked from the sea for generations. It was their home. 

Starting around 2019, the sea began eroding the shoreline quickly. Homes, streets, a kindergarten, and the local school have been destroyed or lost to the encroaching Gulf of Mexico. Coastal erosion and rising sea levels have swallowed large areas of land, leaving many houses in ruins and forcing dozens of families to move inland because there’s nothing left to protect them from the ocean. The community has become a symbol of climate displacement in Mexico, with locals describing how their way of life — based on fishing and living by the sea — has been overwhelmed by rising sea levels. As people were forced from their homes, the Mexican government had to build a new village for them. One man I heard being interviewed said that since moving, he has felt a deep, deep loss. 

This case is a vivid example in Mexico of how sea-level rise, coastal erosion, and climate change have directly displaced a fishing village. Closer to home, we are seeing the ocean erode beaches in the Half Moon Bay area. Mirada Road, which runs along the beach near the Miramar Inn and the Douglas Beach House, famous for its jazz concerts, is now a one-lane road because the ocean is encroaching, eroding the cliffs and the road. As this continues, one day in the not-too-distant future, all the establishments and private homes along Mirada Road will be gone. 

I believe that it was last February, just last month, when the Palo Alto Baylands Preserve experienced the usual King Tide. However, this one was unusual because the tides topped the levees, flooded the park, and caused it to close. Sea level rise is well on its way. 

And so, we are facing the sixth mass extinction, which is impacting much of the wildlife on our planet. As a result, the planet’s biodiversity is in serious decline, and the combined effects of this and global warming are sending us signals today that we must act to save our wildlife, our place on Earth, and a sustainable future.

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