Blue plus yellow creates green. Remove the blue, and the green disappears. That is the color-theory argument at the core of a Brazilian creative campaign that has spent the past six months making an unusually elegant case for marine protection, using screen printing, mineral pigments, and a very deliberate reimagining of the national flag.

The campaign is called No Blue, No Green. It was created by Droga5 São Paulo, the Brazilian office of the global creative agency, for SOS Oceano, a Brazilian coalition of NGOs working to expand the country’s marine protected areas. Phase one launched at Rio Ocean Week in October 2025, when the agency stripped the blue and green from the Brazilian flag and let the absence do the work. Phase two, which rolled out in early April 2026, moves from subtraction to craft: six original screen-printed artworks, produced in collaboration with Black Madre Studio and Joules & Joules Laboratory, each one pairing a marine species with its terrestrial counterpart inside the yellow diamond of the Brazilian flag.

A Campaign Built Through Craft

Screen printing was chosen for its chromatic precision and layered ink application, which together allow the prints to honor the tradition of Brazilian naturalist illustration while landing the campaign’s political message with clarity. More unusually, the pigments themselves are natural mineral-based, developed over months of research with Joules & Joules Laboratory to achieve accurate hues without any synthetic solvents. A campaign about reducing marine pollution, produced with no petrochemical inputs, is a different proposition from one that merely names the problem.

Each of the six prints draws a visual equivalence between marine and terrestrial ecosystems: a humpback whale alongside Amazonian flora, coral structures set against forest canopy, reef fish interlaced with rainforest birds. The yellow diamond of the flag remains the framing device in every piece, a visual constant that gives the series its unity and grounds the argument in national identity rather than abstract environmental appeal.

The Coalition Behind the Campaign

SOS Oceano is less a single organization than an alliance. Its seven member groups include Sea Shepherd Brazil, Rede Pró-UC, Instituto Baleia Jubarte, Divers for Sharks, the Seaspiracy Foundation, Núcleo de Educação e Monitoramento Ambiental (NEMA), and Projeto Golfinho Rotador, with support from the Blue Marine Foundation. Their shared advocacy focuses on expanding Brazil’s marine protected areas and aligning the country’s policy with UN Sustainable Development Goal 14, Life Below Water, alongside the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

For context on the stakes: Brazil’s coastline runs more than 7,400 kilometers, but the country’s coastal marine protections have faced sustained pressure from development, industrial fishing interests, and shifting political winds over recent years. Public awareness of ocean conservation in Brazil, despite the scale of its maritime territory, remains significantly lower than awareness of Amazon deforestation. Campaigns like No Blue, No Green are one of the ways the coalition is trying to shift that imbalance.

The Creative Reasoning

Diego Limberti, Chief Design Officer at Droga5 São Paulo, described the throughline across both phases:

“The beginning of this project showed that design can condense a complex environmental truth into a single, felt symbol. In this phase, the elements of the flag remain part of the campaign’s visual process, but they are now reinterpreted to emphasize the animals that live in marine parks and their relationship with the forest. One biome depends on the other, and this is highlighted by the colors of Brazil’s greatest symbol.”

André Maciel, Creative Director at Black Madre Studio, framed the underlying logic more plainly:

“The project is rooted in color theory. When we say without blue there is no green, we’re working with the fundamental logic of primary and secondary colors: blue and yellow create green.”

The Science Behind the Metaphor

The campaign’s central claim, that terrestrial life depends on a functional ocean, is not rhetorical flourish. The ocean absorbs approximately 30 percent of human-generated carbon dioxide emissions each year and produces somewhere between 50 and 80 percent of the oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere, figures tracked consistently by NOAA and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission. Marine ecosystems regulate global temperature, drive the water cycle that sustains terrestrial rainfall, and hold the majority of the planet’s biological carbon stocks. Degrade the ocean as a functioning system, and the conditions that allow forests, agriculture, and human settlement to exist begin to degrade with it.

Put more directly: the color metaphor at the heart of the campaign is, in ecological terms, almost literal.

Where to See the Work

The six original prints are on view at Galeria Plano in Barra Funda, São Paulo, and the campaign is running nationally across billboards, newspapers, and magazines. A short film documenting the project, produced with Black Madre Studio and sound design by Bumblebeat, is available below.

A complete project gallery, with high-resolution views of each print and the full list of production credits, is hosted on Black Madre Studio’s Behance page.

Why the Work Matters Beyond Brazil

There is a broader argument embedded in the campaign that is worth naming. Environmental advocacy often struggles because the science feels abstract and the rhetoric feels tired. No Blue, No Green sidesteps both traps by letting the image carry the argument and following through with craft that matches. The prints can be looked at as design, read as advocacy, and held as a physical object, each of those modes reinforcing the others.

For the coalition behind SOS Oceano, which still has to do the slower and harder work of policy change, that kind of layered visibility is the real prize. A campaign that gets attention in design publications and award shows can travel into classrooms, government offices, and international press in ways that a conventional advocacy message rarely does. The coalition structure itself, with multiple organizations working under a shared visual identity, also points to something replicable: civil society groups pooling their advocacy through unified creative strategy rather than competing for the same attention.

The yellow diamond, reframed as a site of ecological argument, can carry new content indefinitely. That is a useful thing for a coalition still in it for the long haul.

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Learn more:

• SOS Oceano coalition members: Sea Shepherd Brazil, Instituto Baleia Jubarte, Divers for Sharks, Projeto Golfinho Rotador, and others
• Campaign film: vimeo.com/1178605134
• Full project on Behance: behance.net/gallery/247332271/SOS-Oceano-No-blue-no-green
• Exhibition: Plano Estúdio, Barra Funda, São Paulo (on view now)

The question visitors to Tenerife are increasingly asking before they book is one that would have seemed unusual a few years ago: is the water actually safe to swim in? It is a fair and important question, and one that deserves a straightforward, evidence-based answer rather than either alarming exaggeration or reassuring dismissal. The situation is genuinely complicated, varies significantly by location and season, and is in the middle of a politically charged response from local and national authorities.

The Scale of the Pollution Problem

The water quality crisis affecting parts of Tenerife is not a tabloid invention. In late 2025, the Court of Justice of the European Union formally condemned Spain for failing to comply with the EU’s Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive, identifying at least 12 specific locations on Tenerife where sewage collection, treatment, and discharge into coastal waters was either inadequate or entirely absent. [1] This followed years of documented failures. Environmental analysis cited by campaigners estimated that approximately 57 million litres of wastewater are discharged into Canary Islands seas every day, equivalent in volume to around 17 Olympic swimming pools. [2]

The consequences became impossible to ignore in 2024 and 2025. Playa Jardín, a well-known black-sand beach in Puerto de la Cruz on the island’s north coast, was closed for almost a year after E. coli levels in the water significantly exceeded safe limits. Investigations revealed fractured discharge pipes, pumping stations operating without legal authorisation, and a wastewater treatment plant that had gone years without the mandatory inspections and repairs. [3] In August 2025, the Public Prosecutor’s Office took the unusual step of charging six officials — including a former mayor of Puerto de la Cruz and the island’s former Tourism Department head — with environmental negligence and mismanagement of public infrastructure. [3]

The Spanish environmental NGO Ecologistas en Acción, which publishes an annual “Black Flag” report ranking the worst-managed coastal zones in Spain, awarded black flags to both Playa Jardín and Puertito de Adeje in its 2025 edition. [4] Puertito de Adeje, on the island’s southwest coast, was flagged not for E. coli but for what the organisation described as poor management in relation to new luxury coastal development and an underwater garden project that critics argue threatens endangered marine species. [4]

Storm events have made the underlying infrastructure problems dramatically visible. When Storm Claudia brought heavy rainfall in November 2025, drainage systems in Garachico and Las Américas were overwhelmed, sending wet wipes, oils, and other debris onto the shore. Beachgoers in Las Américas reported finding white, greasy masses on the sand, which chemists explained as the product of soaps and oils in wastewater reacting when pushed out to sea. [5] The Canary Islands government’s own discharge register, updated in 2025, recorded 403 coastal discharge points across the archipelago, with more than half operating without full authorisation. [1]

The Response: €81 Million and a 2030 Target

In February 2026, Tenerife’s Island Council formally presented an €81 million infrastructure plan designed to address these failures over a four-year period running through 2030. The plan covers modernising outdated wastewater networks, increasing treatment capacity, preventing unauthorised coastal discharges, and improving coordination between the island’s municipalities, which have historically operated fragmented and sometimes incompatible sanitation systems. [6] Vice President Lope Afonso framed the initiative around a “zero waste” ambition and called on all local municipalities to participate in the 2027-2030 Cooperation Plan. [6]

The plan has been welcomed cautiously by environmental groups. The Tenerife Association of Friends of Nature (ATAN), which was among the first organisations to raise public alarms about the contamination crisis in early 2026, has called for more transparency about the actual scale of coastal pollution and demanded that tourists be given honest information about water quality at specific beaches rather than generic reassurances. [1] This tension between the island’s economic dependence on tourism and the imperative to communicate environmental problems honestly is not going away quickly.

Where Is It Actually Safe to Swim?

The water quality situation varies significantly across Tenerife’s coastline, and not all beaches are affected equally. The problems documented in official reports are concentrated primarily in the north of the island, around Puerto de la Cruz and parts of the northeast coast, and in specific southern locations where infrastructure has struggled to keep pace with resort development.

The southern resort strip between Los Cristianos and Costa Adeje generally maintains higher water quality, supported by more recently built sanitation infrastructure and EU Blue Flag certification at several beaches. Blue Flag status, awarded annually by the Foundation for Environmental Education, requires compliance with strict water quality testing, environmental management standards, and safety requirements — making it the most reliable indicator of consistently clean swimming water available to visitors. [7]

Practical guidance for 2026 visitors: check the current flag status at your specific beach on arrival, not the status from a previous season. Red flag means swimming is forbidden, regardless of the reason. Avoid swimming within 48 hours of heavy rainfall anywhere on the island, as storm runoff affects even beaches that are generally well managed. The north coast, including the Puerto de la Cruz area, carries higher current risk than the southwest. Beaches within the southern resort area with active Blue Flag certification — including Playa de Troya, Playa del Duque, and Las Vistas in Los Cristianos — are your safest options while the infrastructure improvements work their way through the system.

Looking Ahead

Tenerife’s coastal pollution crisis is real, but it is being taken seriously in a way it was not a few years ago. EU legal pressure, criminal charges against officials, a significant funding commitment, and genuine civic pressure from environmental organisations have combined to produce a political response with specific targets and timelines. Whether that response is adequate, and whether it moves fast enough to protect both public health and the island’s reputation, is a question that will be answered in the coming years.

What is certain is that the era of uncritical optimism about Tenerife’s beach water quality is over. Visitors deserve accurate information, and the island’s long-term interests as a destination are better served by honest communication than by silence.

Sources

1. BritBrief: Health alert for Canary Islands — tourists warned about beach water pollution, britbrief.co.uk, January 2026
2. National World: Warning to avoid 48 Black Flag beaches in Spain, nationalworld.com, June 2024
3. DaNews.eu: Prosecutor charges six officials over pollution at Playa Jardín in Tenerife, August 2025
4. Travel Tomorrow: Tenerife set to invest €81 million to clean up island’s coastline and reputation, traveltomorrow.com, February 2026
5. Canarian Weekly: Waste and pollution wash up on Tenerife’s coastline again, canarianweekly.com
6. Travel and Tour World: Tenerife Plans to Invest Eighty Million Euros in Overhauling Water and Sanitation Infrastructure, travelandtourworld.com, February 2026
7. Curious Expeditions: Is the sea clean in Tenerife?, curiousexpeditions.org, March 2026

Meet The Cover Conservationist is a recurring SEVENSEAS feature that spotlights inspiring and influential people working at the forefront of ocean conservation.

Beyond the research papers, campaigns, and headlines, this series offers a more personal look at the people behind the work, exploring what drives them, challenges them, and keeps them hopeful for the future of our ocean. If there’s a conservationist you’d love to see featured on a future cover, we invite you to submit a short nomination (around 250 words) to info@sevenseasmedia.org. We receive many outstanding submissions, and while not all can be selected for publication, each is carefully considered.

Below you’ll find the merciless interrogation designed to give readers insight into our conservationist’s professional journey and the human side of life in ocean conservation. We only ask fearlessly candid, no-holds-barred questions, so get ready for a brutally honest, nail-biting interview.

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1. To get our readers acquainted, why don’t you tell us just a little about yourself, what motivates you and what you are working on.

Jacqueline: I’m a second-year master’s degree student in the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography. My research focuses on water quality and aquaculture, specifically investigating how water quality and gear type affect oyster growth in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. This work is driven by my interest to collaborate with oyster farmers and conduct research that benefits the aquaculture industry.

2. What was the moment or influence that first pulled you toward ocean conservation? Tell us about that.

Jacqueline: During college, I spent a summer along the coast of Maine assisting with lobster and scallop research projects. That experience showed me how closely science, industry, and coastal communities are connected. Working on the waterfront and interacting directly with fishermen helped me see that ocean conservation isn’t just about ecosystems; it’s also about supporting the people and livelihoods that depend on them.

3. Was there a specific place, species, experience, mentor, job, or challenge that shaped your career path?

Jacqueline: My first job after earning my bachelor’s degree was on Catalina Island, California, where I worked as a marine science instructor. It was a dynamic, adventurous, and rewarding job, one that continues to impact me today. I learned how to be an educator, communicate science, adapt quickly, and find the fun in challenging moments.

4. How do science and storytelling intersect in your work?

Jacqueline: The water quality dataset from my project helps oyster farmers understand seasonal trends in Narragansett Bay. By pairing quantitative data with observations from oyster farmers, we can tell a more complete story about what works, guide future research, and strengthen Rhode Island’s aquaculture industry through collaboration.

5. What’s one misconception people often have about your field?

Jacqueline: One common misconception people have about oceanography is that it entails just being out on a boat conducting field work. A lot of the work happens behind a computer, analyzing data, writing, securing funding, and collaborating across disciplines. It’s an ever-changing balance of field, lab, and desk work.

6. What part of your work feels most urgent today?

Jacqueline: Continued collaboration feels especially urgent, specifically uplifting the voices of industry members, such as oyster farmers, to identify research questions that are most relevant and impactful.

7. What achievement are you most proud of, even if few people know about it?

Jacqueline: I decided to apply to graduate school nine years after earning my undergraduate degree. Leaving the workforce and returning to student life was a big shift, and I’m proud to have taken that step. While I’m older than many of my peers, I wouldn’t change my timeline. Professional (and personal) growth isn’t linear, and there are infinite ways to get to where you want to go.

8. What keeps you going when conservation feels overwhelming?

Jacqueline: Being in graduate school, I’m surrounded by a large community of people who are deeply motivated. Being surrounded by that energy and commitment helps me stay focused, and reminds me that change is possible, even when progress feels slow.

9. What’s something the public rarely sees about how conservation really works?

Jacqueline: One thing the public rarely sees is just how complex and unpredictable conservation science can be. There are countless variables, including weather, mechanical issues, staffing, and funding, that we navigate every day. Carrying out research often means constantly adjusting and getting creative.

10. What’s one hard truth about ocean conservation we need to face?

Jacqueline: Climate change and environmental stressors disproportionately impact marginalized and coastal communities. Their voices and needs are often overlooked, yet they are on the frontlines of these challenges. Effective conservation requires listening to these communities, gathering their perspectives, and developing real solutions that will protect future generations.

11. What advice would you give your younger self entering this field?

Jacqueline: Everyone around you has something to teach you. Take the time to listen, ask questions, and build genuine connections.

12. Where do you realistically hope your work will be in 5 to 10 years?

Jacqueline: While my master’s research is ending, I hope that future research in Rhode Island continues to expand and support sustainable aquaculture. I’d love to see more state funding for projects that benefit both oysters and kelp, stronger partnerships between researchers and industry, and initiatives such as an experimental aquaculture farm.

13. What innovation excites you most in ocean conservation?

Jacqueline: I’m excited to see how aquaculture can become more “climate-ready.” For example, breeding or selecting oyster strains that are resilient to warming waters and ocean acidification could help farmers adapt to changing conditions.

14. Ocean sunrise or sunset? Any reason why?

Jacqueline: Sunrise, preferably viewed from a surfboard.

15. If you could be any marine animal, what would you be?

Jacqueline: Humpback whale. You can’t beat the ability to echolocate.

16. Coffee or tea (or what else?) in the field?

Jacqueline: Matcha latte.

17. Most unexpected or interesting place your work has taken you?

Jacqueline: I led marine conservation programs in the Dominican Republic for a summer. We partnered with local nonprofits on coral and mangrove restoration. It was interesting to see conservation happening in a different context. I loved learning about different approaches and realizing how much we can share and learn from one another across communities and countries.

18. One book, film, or documentary everyone should experience?

Jacqueline: Blue Planet 1 and 2.

19. What does a perfect day off look like?

Jacqueline: A bike ride to the beach, body surfing in warm summer waves, and low tide sea glass hunting.

20. One word you associate with the future of the ocean?

Jacqueline: Collaboration.

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• – Meet Dr Enrico Gennari, the January Cover Conservationist