Planeación y Concertación para el Manejo Sustentable de la Isla del Espíritu Santo, Baja California Sur
Antonio Cantú Díaz Barriga
María Elena Martínez Delgado
We invite you to know a little bit about our city and port of La Paz, specially the Espíritu Santo Island (Holy Spirit) and his natural beauties in the following video
Toward the Sustainable Use of Espírtu Santo
Island Reserve, Baja California Sur,Mexico
By María Elena Martínez
Delgado
and Antonio
Cantú Díaz Barriga
Much of Mexico’s coastal lands
are held in common and
managed by associations known as
ejidos. A key change affecting the
coast is the constitutional reform to
Article 27 which was adopted in
1994 allowing ejidos to sell off parts
of the common lands to the private
sector. These sales can even
include common lands that have
been declared as federal natural
protected area, as in the case of the
Island of Espíritu Santo in La Paz
Bay, Baja California Sur.
In the Gulf of California basin,
there are nearly 900 large and
small islands. In 1978 the entire
system was declared as the Gulf
Island National Refuge for migratory
birds and endemic species.
The Island of Espíritu Santo is
located close to the City of La Paz
and receives about 30,000 visitors
per year and supports twenty ecotourism
businesses.
In October 1976, a presidential
decree transferred title of the
Island of Espíritu Santo to the
Bonfil ejido, a unique event in
Mexico. The general assembly of
the association of Bonfil ejido petitioned
the agriculture ministry and
its certification program for ejido
rights and land titles, to allow 90
hectares of Playa Bonanza, one of
the largest beaches on the island,
removed from communal status
and subdivided into parcels.
Individual property titles were
then issued allowing sale of the
properties for tourism development.
This occurred regardless of a
national park law stating there was
to be no physical alteration to flora
and fauna.
In response, the Conservación
de Territorio Insular Mexico (ISLA)
developed a conservation initiative
in 1997 with funding and support
from a group of donors including
The Nature Conservancy, the U.S.
Agency for International
Development, the government of
Japan, The David and Lucile
Packard Foundation, Homeland
Foundation, Sweet Water Trust,
and PEMEX. The initiative’s intent
was to help the newly created Gulf
Islands park system carry out
urgent measures to protect the
marine and island ecosystems in
Loreto and Espíritu Santo.
ISLA focused on Espíritu Santo
and brought together stakeholders,
including park managers, public
officials, the ejido leadership, fishers,
tourism service operators, the
academic community, and local
and international environmental
groups. The intent was to develop
a program for island management
that could be based upon a shared
vision of commitment to conservation,
while respecting individual
interests and needs.
In 1998 work began to build
awareness on conservation issues
concerning how the Bonfil
ejido utilized its natural
resources. A group was
formed to discuss the
legal framework governing
the island and the
responsibilities of the
ejido. In addition, park
managers were preparing
a 30-year conservation
plan for the island aimed
to conserve the sensitive
ecosystem and allow only lowimpact
activities.
The Bonfil ejido had insisted
upon putting forward its development
proposals for Espíritu Santo,
which were rejected by park managers
and environmental agencies
because they did not incorporate
conservation measures. Bonfil ejido
then changed its approach and
helped lobby the National Ecology
Institute for funding to prepare a
management plan for the Gulf
Island. This work was led by the
Interdisciplinary Center for Marine
Sciences of the National
Polytecnical Institute (CICIMAR/
IPN), and financed by the Mexican
Trust for Nature Conservation.
ISLA was brought in as an
advisor to the Island Park Reserve
office for Baja California Sur as
well as the ejidos and CICIMAR.
For the first time, community
involvement was a central feature
in preparing a park management
plan. ISLA, with the help of the
Mexican Environmental Law
Center (CEMDA), acted as a mediator
in conflicts over park management
rules which needed to
accommodate the rights, responsibilities
and authority of all the
public, federal, and state users.
The Bonfil ejido and ISLA analyzed
possible low-impact development
options for the ejido. These
included an eco-tourism enterprise,
agricultural projects, and a
pearl farm (one of the traditional
uses of the Gulf Islands).
Unfortunately, one of the small
ejido groups went ahead and built
a set of cabanas on an island parcel
in 1997. In 2000 the Federal
Environmental Law Enforcement
Agency, PROFEPA, acted to demolish
the cabanas. This enforcement
action signaled that the Mexican
government would not tolerate
illegal construction anywhere on
the Gulf Islands.
The Bonfil ejido and ISLA then
developed a proposal to purchase
the 90 hectares of land which had
been legalized for private sale. The
group also searched for a legal
mechanism to insure all land held
in common would be maintained
in its natural state.
A draft formal agreement, “Collaborative Agreement for
Conservation and Sustainable
Development of Espíritu Santo
Island,” was prepared and focused
on island conservation while promoting
economic development for
the Bonfil community.
A negotiation process began,
key factors for success included
clear and rapid lines of communication
among the government
agencies, foundations, and local
actors.
Once the collaborative agreement
was signed, the search began
for the right legal approach for
buying the privatized ejido land.
Among the options were leasing
the sites, outright expropriation, a
purchase agreement, and an easement.
An analysis indicated the
tool which best met all parties
needs was outright acquisition.
This was the only approach
viewed as legally binding over the
long term under the existing agriculture
law.
The process began
with a property value assessment.
One proposal was that the land be
sold for one-half peso per square
meter (about US 50 cents). The
Secretary of Environment, Natural
Resources, and Fisheries replied
with an offer of only 0.2 pesos.
(about US 10 cents), justifying this
low price out of concern for not
raising the price for other conservation-
oriented land acquisitions
in the country.
ISLA proposed that a fund also
be established to support sustainable
development and agriculture
ventures both on the island and
mainland holdings of the Bonfil
ejido. This recommendation was
received positively, and steps
needed to carry out the agreement
began. However, the process was
delayed as a consequence of the
change in federal government.
Fortunately, the agreement was
concluded favorably in July 2001.
The two islands were reincorporated
into the Gulf Islands
National Park and a fund of
US$3,270,000 was established for the benefit of the ejido. Another
group, FUNDEA, proved instrumental
in the negotiation to obtain
the 90 hectares and have them
placed under the management of
the National Protected Areas
Commission. A key factor for
future success will be to work with
the ejido to carry out sustainable
income-generating projects such as
the proposal for pearl culture in
San Gabriel Bay within the island
system.
This success has initiated other
very positive developments such
as the recent commitment by the
government to move ahead to
complete the ecological master
plan for the gulf and to consider
extending the Gulf Islands Park
jurisdiction to include adjacent
marine waters, which has been a
limitation of the Island Parks system
up to now. In addition,
the state of Baja
California Sur is supporting
the process now
underway to create a
model coastal zone program
for the state.
In carrying out the
special process to protect
Espíritu Santo, ISLA was
able to contribute to a
new model for sustaining
conservation programs which
holds promise for other places in
the Gulf of California and the Baja
peninsula.
An important lesson learned
during this process is the importance
of looking carefully at, and
taking advantage of, special opportunities
that can lead to success. In
this case, it proved possible to go
from an initial proposal to carrying
out a participatory process to solve
a local problem, to influencing
local and regional planning, and
finally, gaining national attention.
For further information, contact María Elena Martínez Delgado, Conservación del Territorio Insular Mexicano (ISLA), A.C. Álvaro Obregón 735 Colonia El Esterito, La
Paz Baja California Sur, México. Tel./Fax: 612-123-43-18 or 123-00-85.
- Cantú, A., M. E. Martínez, D, Serge, V. Diggins, S. Holladay, M. Kleiberg y L. Paulson . 1998. Proyecto “Complejo Marino e Insular del Suroeste de Baja California Sur: Parque Nacional Bahía de Loreto e Isla del Espíritu Santo Zona de Reserva y Refugio de Aves Migratorias y Fauna Silvestre Islas del Golfo de California, México”. Conservación del Territorio Insular Mexicano, A. C. y The Nature Conservancy.
- Diario Oficial de la Federación . 1976. Decreto del 5 de octubre de 1976. Resolución presidencial sobre la creación de un Nuevo Centro de Población Ejidal, que se denominará Alfredo Vladimir Bonfil, ubicado en el Municipio de La Paz.
- Diario Oficial de la Federación . 1978. Decreto del 2 de agosto. Declara la Zona de Reserva Y Refugio de Aves Migratorias y Fauna Silvestre Islas del Golfo de California. México, D.F.
- Diario Oficial de la Federación . 2000. Acuerdo del 7 de junio de 2000. Mediante el cual la SEMARNAP dota de una categoría acorde a la LGEEPA a 22 áreas naturales protegidas.
- Holtz, C . En prensa. Nature Tourism on the Espíritu Santo Islands, Baja California Sur. México: An Assessment of Activities & Economic Importance. Conservación del Territorio Insular Mexicano, A.C.
- SEMARNAP . 2000. Programa de Manejo Área de protección de Flora y Fauna Islas del Golfo de California.
- SEMARNAP . 2001. Programa de Manejo Complejo Insular del Espíritu Santo. Baja California Sur.
- Secretaría de la Reforma Agraria . 1976. Actas de Posesión, Deslinde y Amojonamiento Definitivos Total de los Terrenos Conocidos por Concepto de Nuevo Centro de Población Ejidal al Núcleo Denominado Alfredo Vladimir Bonfil .
Conservación del Territorio Insular Mexicano, A.C. Álvaro Obregón No. 735 E
/ Torre Iglesias y Salvatierra
Col. El Esterito,
C.P. 23020
La Paz, Baja California Sur,
México
Tel / Fax: 01(612) 123-43-18
01(612) 123-00-85
