Postcards from Utila

Located north of the Honduran mainland and along the second largest coral reef system in the world, Utila is one of the cheapest destinations globally to become certified as a scuba diver. While the island's tourism revenue significantly contributes to the national Honduran economy, the pressures of developing, maintaining, and promoting dive tourism in Utila are leading to negative environmental and social consequences for the local community. Postcards from Utila positions these current environmental and social plights within the larger context of government corruption, Indigenous land rights struggles, and unprecedented murders of environmental activists in Honduras. By focusing on Utila as a microcosm of what happens when elites and foreign developers dictate projects with a focus on short-term monetary goals as opposed to long-term sustainability, Postcards from Utila highlights that these are in fact, common global narratives, and not issues that are endemic to Utila, or Honduras.