There is a clear need and a lack of federal funding to protect clean water for the most vulnerable in our community. While our nation's water is under threat, now more than ever, our Latino/a/e community needs to be at the forefront to advocate for equitable policies that protect our water and the basic human right to access it.

Nuestra lucha for conserving 30% of United States and Territories lands and waters in their natural state is a fight for social, economic, cultural and environmental justice. Latino/a/e and Hispanic communities have deep-rooted connections to the ocean that define our cultures and affirm our rootedness in the past, present, and future of this continent.

Our priorities

• Cultural heritage: Only 24 of the more than 400 National Park units specifically preserve Latino/a/e history, cultura, and contributions to the United States of America. There is little evidence that any of the 1,000 marine protected areas preserve Latino/a/e heritage. Our stories of the ocean should equitably reflect the histories, futures, and contributions of everyone. GreenLatinos is on the frontlines of the movement for inclusive cultural interpretation at conservation areas that conserve cultural heritage like the Chumash Heritage and Hudson Canyon national marine sanctuaries, and an equitable land, water and ocean management workforce across federal agencies.

• Climate: We resist generations of public health violations like urban heat, polluted air and water, lack of access to healthy food, and the effects of other extreme weather events by advancing nature’s power to address climate change. From marine protected areas to community garden conservation, we fight for our lands and waters to sequester carbon, provide clean air and water, allow water infiltration, reduce urban heat, and for fossil fuels to stay in the ground.
• Biodiversity and habitat: Our cultures are rooted in the soil, bodies of water, plants, animals, and fungi that come from America’s lands, waters, and ocean. Somos hijos de la Tierra y el Mar. By protecting non-human species, water, and soil health, we protect our identities. GreenLatinos is here to ensure that these unique cultural assets to the Latino/a/x communities across the nation are properly protected by growing and sustaining federal, state and municipal conservation areas across our country’s lands and waters.  
• Equitable access to nature: Communities of color are three times more likely to live without access to parks, creeks, and other natural areas compared to white communities in the U.S. It is a right for everyone to receive the healing powers of nature, not a privilege. Our vision for environmental liberation includes equitable and carbon neutral access to nature for all.  
• Equitable public process: Language justice in the public processes for decision making about our public lands and ocean is one of many efforts that GreenLatinos advocates for. Our Public Land and Ocean Colectivo strives to ensure that outreach and communication across the decision-making process are available in English and Spanish. Only about 30% of Latines speak exclusively in English, and 71.1% speak a language other than English at home. Furthermore, our advocacy is for equitable access for all, and we ensure that we center and value the diversity of our community members, particularly those that may be undocumented or have non-citizen status.
• Community: GreenLatinos cultivates deep, authentic relationships between Hispanic and Latino leaders and allies committed to addressing public lands and ocean conservation issues at the Public Land and Ocean Collective. 92 % of Latinos support setting a goal of conserving 30% of the country’s land and waters by the year 2030 (source)