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Sea Of Cortez World Heritage Site Threatened By Resort Development

CABO PULMO, Mexico - By the 1990s, decades of overfishing the waters of the Sea of Cortez left the coral reef at Cabo Pulmo, in the East Cape region of the Baja California Peninsula, almost void of life. To reverse this process the local community convinced the Mexican federal government to establish a marine protected area at Cabo Pulmo in 1995. Ninety-nine percent of the 17,560 acre Marine Protected Area that was established is ocean.

Today the Cabo Pulmo Marine Park is one the most successful examples of marine conservation in Mexico. Fishing was banned inside the park and local residents, along with the Mexican government, helped to bring the reef back from complete destruction.

Unfortunately, development pressures along the East Cape now threaten the fragile beauty, abundance, and diversity of the marine species for which it is famous.

"Coral reefs are very fragile ecosystems, explains Dr. Octavio Aburto Oropeza, from Scripps Institution of Oceanography and an Associate of the International League of Conservation Photographers. "They are nurseries essential to populating the oceans. Cabo Pulmo is estimated to be 20,000 years old, and is home to 226 fish species".

A Spanish company, Hansa Urbana, plans to build a tourism mega-development on 9,875 acres adjacent to the marine park. If the development goes through, the sleepy and white sand fringed Cabo Pulmo will be joined by 40,000 new residents in a complex that will include hotels, condominiums, a 490 slip marina, two golf courses, and shopping centers.

Mexican environmental authorities had already given the green light to the Spanish company but eight months of legal and media pressures by a coalition of local residents, non-profit organizations, and researchers have made the Secretary of the Environment reconsider the project. It has temporarily revoked Hansa's building permits pending new evidence on the impacts of the development on the coral reef.

The director of the Cabo Pulmo National Park, Javier Alejandro Gonzalez, told the media in an interview that the National Commission on National Protected Areas (CONANP) found that Cabo Cortes' environmental-impact statement "was vague in several points" and contained figures that "had not been validated".

"We have spoken with experts, such as Dr. Octavio Aburto Oropeza, from Scripps Institute of Oceanography, Dr Ezequiel Escurra, and others, and they all warn of dire consequences if the resort project is not cancelled', says Fay Crevoshay, communications director of WiLDCOAST, and part of the coalition called "Cabo Pulmo Vivo!", that is trying to raise public awareness about the threats to the reef.

Enrique Castro, whose family has lived for five generations in the small community, says, "fifteen years ago we stopped fishing and started taking care of the reef. Today we offer tourist services such as diving, snorkeling, boat rides, sport fishing [outside of the park], and lodging. And now they are going to kill the reef and what about us? Tourists will not come to see a dead reef."

The final decision has not yet been made. You can help save the reef at Cabo Pulmo. Go to WiLDCOAST or Cabo Pulmo Vivo! to sign a petition, make a contribution, or volunteer.





















photos courtesy wildcoast

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On one hand, the combined efforts of environmentalists and the government managed to keep Exportadora de Sal out of San Ignacio. But then, given the landscape, weather and lack of infrastructure, it's a far cry from what's happening down on the East Cape. I personally hope they can kill this development. But given the attraction of the area, and existing infrastructure, including the airport, money may talk!

Originally Posted by Bajahowodd

But given the attraction of the area, and existing infrastructure, including the airport, money may talk!

Or lack thereof...

Do you know anything about the details of the project?

I can imagine an approach that would have minimum impact; no golf course, state of the art sewage treatment with monitoring, minimum overall density, clustering away from the shore line, etc.

I agree with you that money will carry the day, and add that sometimes the best available answer to controlling development is to find a developer that will work with environmentalists to find compromise. I have seen development blocked in some areas and through several owners until someone showed up with deep enough pockets to bulldoze over the concerns. In the end, the damage is worse than had a compromise been reached early on.

I also think that there is a market, especially in a place like Cabo Pulmo, for buyers that are looking for a place that maintains its wildness and offers opportunities for an inhanced interaction with nature, instead of yet another Las Vegas by the Sea.

I wonder if Wildcoast would consider making a list of criteria and conditions, that if followed by developers would earn a Wildcoast endorsement?

Originally Posted by Islander

I wonder if Wildcoast would consider making a list of criteria and conditions, that if followed by developers would earn a Wildcoast endorsement?

That would be nice. I wish developers and environmentalists would spend more time reaching out and seeking such a compromise instead of most of their efforts in trying to just discredit each other. After so much yelling back and forth eventually a large percentage of the general public just stops listening...

Assuming that El Jefe has never had the pleasure of visiting this area, just gotta say that the developers must have by now, soiled their clothing from all the salivating. The area is beyond words beautiful.

Originally Posted by Bajahowodd

Assuming that El Jefe has never had the pleasure of visiting this area, just gotta say that the developers must have by now, soiled their clothing from all the salivating. The area is beyond words beautiful.

And we all know that if one of them has deep enough pockets they will build. The problem is we need a balance with the ecological side of things and that is where I wish both sides were more open to compromise...

That thought will elicit no argument from me.

How bout we go back to tent camping only... and no airports and the roads remain unpaved... and really rough... ya, know like it used to be 50 years or more ago...

Just what the area needs ... 40,000 people

I know, it's progress ...... and folks like to stay in those real fancy places... but, the cost

Originally Posted by BajaGringo

That would be nice. I wish developers and environmentalists would spend more time reaching out and seeking such a compromise instead of most of their efforts in trying to just discredit each other. After so much yelling back and forth eventually a large percentage of the general public just stops listening...

The problem from a preservationist perspective is that the developers have the funds to out last those who would stop the project.

That's why I think the best and most positive approach is to form partnerships. Based on our own business (boat based natural history trips in Alaska and Washington) there are a lot of people willing to spend a lot of money to have an authentic experience. I think that there are also a lot of folks willing to pay a little more to live in a sustainable project in a place like Cabo Pulmo (and yes, it is spectacular, even though the reef got messed up a few years ago by both a hurricane and an anchor dragging mega yacht).

As appealing as returning to the "old days", that ends up being too subjective to be practical. No matter how many years ago you made your first visit, or moved into your dream home, someone else was there before you, and to them, you're part of the problem.

Wildcoast/Costasalvaje is always open to speaking with developers--in fact we just met with very responsible developers in the Cape Region. We are not opposed to development, we just believe that the scale of the Hansa Urbana Cabo Cortes project is not compatible with the goal of conserving the World Heritage Site at Cabo Pulmo and its very fragile coral reef.

What is clear from viewing the ongoing development disaster at nearby La Ribera is that many of the development projects built in the region are not compatible with the landscape. Clearly at La Ribera, placing a marina and resort development at the end of one of the largest watersheds in the entire Baja peninsula was not a good idea.

There is plenty of room in Baja for well planned eco-friendly development that places a premium on creating local jobs for local residents and conserving the amazing natural resources of the Baja peninsula.

When we helped stop the Escalera Nautica project --we did so with a coalition of some of Mexico's top marina owners along with its biggest players in tourism--who understood the project was not reality based and would never work. I believe that most of the developers and hotel owners in Baja have a desire to protect natura resources in the peninsula.

Serge Dedina
Executive Director
WiLDCOAST
Author of:
Wild Sea: Eco-Wars and Surf Stories from the Coast of the Californias
sergededina.com
wildcoast.net

Serge - it is really nice to have you and your voice onboard.

Welcome!

Hola, Serge. Please forgive my cynicsm, but touting, as you called it, Mexico's top marina owners being involved in stopping the Escalera Nautica, I just get a nagging feeling that there's a certain amount of financial self-interest involved here. Maybe I'm wrong. Wouldn't be the first time.

Just in terms of marina owners. Honestly-the marina owners were acting out of frustration. Because the Escalera Nautica was like many of the white elephant projects that dot Baja--investment in new projects that don't have a market in areas where there are no tourists.

Marina owners rightly felt like it didn't make sense to use govt. investment on new projects that would not bring in any revenue when in fact marinas in places like Ensenada, La Paz, Mazatland, Los Cabos are important revenue centers and would be better investments.

For conservationists--we can't always be concerned with private sector motivations for joining certain causes. I know that we were glad to have the marina owners on board --since their argument carried a lot of weight and was heard loud and clear by SECTUR.

This gets to the larger picture of the common ground between conservationists and many of Mexico's top tourism operators who do play by the rules, who do value the amazing places in Baja and the Sea of Cortez and who are concerned by the rush to continually create new tourism centers in Mexico while ignoring existing ones.

All of us who either live or travel in Baja extensively know that the best thing the Mexican govt. could do now to improve tourism would be to 1: Improve the Baja highway, 2) clean up the garbage and graffiti that are a plague everywhere; and 3) try to improve the security checkpoints that even for me are a bit sketchy--I'm not sure ski-masked soldiers with machine guns asking to "buy" the stuff they find while rummaging through my truck actually make me feel that secure.

Serge Dedina
Executive Director
WiLDCOAST
Author
Wild Sea: Eco-Wars and Surf Stories from the Coast of the Californias

Thanks. And well said.