In honor of World Wetland Day, Mary Kay Inc. has renewed its partnership with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to preserve and protect wetlands.
The partnership, established in 1990, has worked to engage Indigenous peoples in sustainable aquaculture in New Zealand, rescue threatened species in the Solomon Islands, and secure fresh water in Mexico. In 2019, the two organizations teamed up to focus 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.”
In 2022, Mary Kay and TNC plan to work together on projects that will restore 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; support long-term wetland management needs in Texas; establish a living laboratory to share conservation techniques; and create partnerships that can continue the coastal restoration work in Texas in the future.
“The key is working in tandem with not only The Nature Conservancy, but with nature itself,” said 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.”
