Dr. Carlos Burelo, the head of the Universidad Juárez Autonomá de Tabasco (UJAT) botany program, had been insisting for several years that he had a scientific anomaly on his hands. What he needed was a team with the tools and resources to study a coastal mangrove forest that he claimed lay more than 170 km from the ocean. Rhizophora mangle, the red mangrove, is a salt-tolerant tree easily recognized by its tangle of stilted roots that help it thrive in coastal environments along with a suite of other unique adaptations. Dr. Burelo’s trees were no different, their branches even laden with the same assemblage of orchids and bromeliads that one would expect to find along the Gulf coast. Peering underwater revealed a confusing and wonderful scene—the same labyrinthian roots I was accustomed to seeing filled with snapper, jellyfish, sea turtles and young sharks—only here was a freshwater ecosystem with an entirely different array of fish, river turtles and insects. Judging from the size of the trees alone, it was clear this forest was no recent arrival.

Memories of the Future is a short film that tells the story of the scientific inquiry that unfolded across the peninsula to make sense of the forest’s origins. The findings are fascinating in their own right, the fruits of long field days and trans-peninsular treks to collect leaf samples that would eventually be taken to a genetics lab in Los Angeles to help reveal answers. But the story also occurs with an urgent context of environmental change ocurring on the Yucatan peninsula.

With our production, we wanted to highlight the awe-inspiring scientific discovery and generate awareness for this natural world wonder quietly existing in rural Tabasco. The San Pedro river runs through troubled lands, affected by harmful agricultural practices like the clearcutting of forest and agricultural runoff that leave the fate of this mangrove forest as well as the entire riparian ecosystem in the balance. Gliding through the mangrove lagoon on canoes its water bore the resemblance of muddy coffee, though local farmers remembered them as crystalline pools only a few years earlier. The curiously occurring mangroves colonizing the riverbanks have helped slow erosion, provided nursery grounds, food and shelter for fish and other animals harvested by local communities. Despite their beneficial role, it was all too easy to imagine the trees disappearing before anyone besides the immediate residents was even aware. Our discovery of the forest’s true age and origins was only the beginning—by telling its story, we could help spotlight Dr. Burelo’s tireless efforts to document the flora and fauna of the region, and build the case for more significant environmental protection.

In 2021 our film won the Jackson Wild WWD Film Showcase, along with other festival awards that helped elevate the story to eventually gain attention in Mexican media outlets. The film recognized Dr. Burelo’s efforts, and he utilized the publicity to secure more funding for ongoing research and survey work in the region, while also continuing to lobby for the creation of a protected area.  The film continues to be used as an educational tool, screened at rural schools in the region.

In 2023, the Mexican government declared the creation of Wanha’ Reserve, encapsulating the San Pedro River and surrounding ecosystems [link to dataMares] in a biosphere reserve recognized at the Federal level as a protected area.

As a relict ecosystem preserving the memory of ancient coastlines, the mangrove forests of Rio San Pedro are a constant reminder of our planet’s one constant—change. Earth has looked inconceivably different from one epoch to the next. Today, climate change is accelerating at a rate incomparable to the geological timescales that have historically carried out these profound planetary restructurings across millions of lifetimes. Any logical and thorough review of research related to climate change (human-caused and natural) concludes that human activity is driving our current restructuring an unprecedented velocity. The question of what to do about it—how to mitigate, react, adapt and redefine our societal behaviors, is a nuanced one that we must address without emotion or difference of opinion clouding our judgement or action. It deserves patience, persistence, urgency and inclusivity. The inland mangrove forests of Tabasco, Mexico provide an avenue to continue conversation about change. Visiting the Wanha’ Reserve is a chance to glimpse into the past in order to understand the future that we have a hand in writing.