The conservation of the Laguna San Ignacio Wetland Complex involves players at the community, local, regional and international level. Conservation projects often require local, regional, national, and international collaboration in order to succeed. The incorporation of new stakeholders and their subsequent collaboration
helps keep conservation viable.

Community level stakeholders depend on healthy marine and coastal ecosystems. Local stakeholders include local ejidos, ejido members and fishers, fishing cooperatives, tourist outfitters and guides, and local businessmen. Accordingly, they play an important leadership role in local government’s inaction and lack of presence in the lagoon.

On the regional level, the Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve plays a prominent conservation role. The reserve was approved by the government as a National Biosphere Reserve in 1988 and was internationally recognized as a biosphere reserve under UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere Reserve Program in 1993. The national decree legally established the reserve’s core and buffer zones, along with regulations for the use of each of these zones. The reserve is an example of international cooperation enhancing natural protected area capacity and administrative operations. The reserve has also increased the involvement of local people through a number of conservation and sustainable development programs with ejidos. These successes demonstrate the reserve’s leadership position and ability to work collaboratively with a wide variety of stakeholders.

National and international organizations, such as Pronatura, WiLDCOAST, Natural Resources Defense Council and Global Green Grant Fund, play an important role as conservation promoters and intermediaries in the lagoon.