GC Partner in Marine Protection featured in new BBC Documentary
Rangers are the first line of defense in the fight to protect our planet.
Every day, they risk their lives to stand between poachers and endangered species, defend biodiversity, and preserve ecological balance—often in the world’s most remote and dangerous regions.
His Royal Highness Prince William and The Royal Foundation’s United for Wildlife program bring you 'Guardians', a groundbreaking new docuseries available exclusively on BBC Earth.
This series offers a fascinating glimpse into the lives of those safeguarding Earth’s most precious ecosystems. This is their story.
The Citizen Observers Network (ROC), a Mexican organization based in La Paz, is the featured topic in the Mexico chapter of the new documentary series Guardians, a production of Prince William's United for Wildlife and the Royal Foundation. This recognition places Mexico on the international map of organized citizen monitoring, highlighting a locally built model with a technical, community-based, scientific, and replicable approach.
The Mexico-specific episode of the series "Guardians"—produced by Prince William's United for Wildlife and the Royal Foundation—focuses on ROC's work in the Gulf of California, one of the most biodiverse marine regions on the planet.
Through the testimony of Captain José Luis Ceseña Calderón, a former poacher turned ocean guardian, the episode shows the real impact of citizen participation in protecting natural and fishing resources.
The Prince of Wales has praised José for becoming one of the “ocean’s greatest protectors.”
William appears in the introduction to the third episode of Guardians, his series of wildlife documentary shorts highlighting the conservation work of rangers across the globe.
The film reveals that the number of illegal boats in the area has dropped from 58 to around six.
Veteran broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough, whose new film Ocean premiered last month, is William’s inspiration for the six-part docuseries, which he hopes will help nature’s wardens be “valued, respected, seen” and promote the “wonderful” regions they protect.
In his filmed introduction, William describes how the Sea of Cortez—once called the world’s aquarium—is under pressure from warming waters, vanishing species, and illegal fishing, which has “pushed this ecosystem to the brink.”
The third episode of the series premiered on Friday, June 6, on BBC Earth channels, in conjunction with World Oceans Day (June 8).
The Founder and Executive Director of ROC, Maria Ugarte Luiselli, appeared at an exclusive screening of the remarkable story of Captain José. Hosted by The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales.
ABOUT ROC
The Citizen Observers Network is a civil society organization based in La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Since 2009, we have been protecting the marine biodiversity of the Gulf of California through a unique model of citizen oversight, environmental monitoring, and collaborative science.
From Mexico to the world: ROC citizen surveillance stars in global series by Prince William and the Royal Foundation—B.C.S. Journalistic Analysis
