Conservation Strategy

The Alliance is working to establish conservation easements to permanently protect the Laguna San Ignacio Wetland Complex. Fundamental to the project’s success was the formation of a multi-level stakeholder alliance. Once formed, the Alliance worked in partnership to structure appropriate legal conservation mechanisms, namely conservation easements (servidumbres ecológicas).

A servidumbre ecológica (conservation easement) is a voluntary legal agreement between two or more property owners in which the land use rights of one are restricted and provided to another, with the objective of preserving natural resources, scenic beauty, or historical and cultural values of the land in perpetuity. A servidumbre ecológica runs with the land and not with the property owner and is given full faith and credit by Mexican courts.

An extended dialogue between Alliance members was conducted in order to determine economic and environmental baselines, identify local and international threats, and visualize the community’s future. During these meetings, ejidatarios and ecotourism outfitters became an integral part of the conservation project. The participation of local Alliance members was key to structuring the first of a series of legal agreements designed to permanently protect the entire Laguna San Ignacio Wetland Complex.