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Unique deal will save 120,000 acres in Baja
By Sandra Dibble
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
October 26, 2005
TIJUANA – A warm-water lagoon along the Baja California
peninsula known as a refuge for migratory gray whales yesterday
became the site of a precedent-setting private conservation measure
hailed by environmentalists from both sides of the border.
The agreement, signed in Tijuana, protects 120,000 acres along
the shores of Laguna San Ignacio in Baja California Sur. Members
of the Ejido Luis Echeverría, a land collective, have unanimously
agreed to limit development on their property in exchange for
a $25,000 annual payment to be used as seed money for low-impact
development projects.
"This is a historic moment," said Raúl López,
president of the 43-member ejido, his voice breaking with emotion.
"We see conservation as an opportunity for development."
The agreement affects a sparsely populated desert region whose
residents have few economic opportunities, and growing numbers
are selling off coastal stretches to developers and land speculators.
The Laguna San Ignacio Conservation Alliance eventually hopes
to preserve 1 million acres along the lagoon by negotiating with
five other ejidos. U.S. conservation groups in the alliance include
the New York-based Natural Resources Defense Council, which has
raised nearly $1.5 million, and the Imperial Beach-based group,
Wildcoast.
Though conservation easements, or private land trusts, have been
negotiated with other ejidos, this would be the first time that
an ejido's entire territory comes under private protection.
Yesterday's legally binding agreement involves the creation of
a conservation easement that covers 80 percent of the ejido's
territory. Mexico's largest and oldest conservation group, Pronatura,
will monitor the agreement, and the San Diego-based conservation
group, the International Community Foundation, will maintain the
trust fund.
Eventually, the remaining 20 percent of the ejido will be protected
after a second agreement that would give members a one-time payment
of $545,000.
The agreement "puts in place very clear rules of engagement,"
said Enrique Hambleton, president of Pronatura Noroeste.
Sandra Dibble: (619) 293-1716; sandra.dibble@uniontrib.com
