Marine Protected Area Status Granted in Bahía de Los Ángeles, BC, Mexico and Las Perlas, Panama

In Mexico, ICF grantees have protected coastal marine environments for many years, accomplishing such goals as the designation of marine protected area status for Isla Espíritu Santo and UNESCO status for the islands and inlets of the Gulf of California.  This year, Pronatura Noroeste’s efforts have resulted in the designation of Bahía de Los Ángeles in Baja California, as a marine protected area.

Last month conservationists celebrated when Mexican President Felipe Calderón decreed an area of the Bahía de Los Ángeles as a naturally protected area, now called the Bahía de Los Ángeles Biosphere Reserve. This designation would not have been possible without the six-year long effort of ICF grantee, Pronatura Noroeste.

The Bahía de Los Ángeles Biosphere Reserve covers more than 950,000 acres including Bahía de Los Ángeles, the Ballenas and Salsipuedes canals, and other beaches and coastal wetland areas. Over-fishing of these areas made it difficult for locals to support themselves. Conservationists and proponents of the reserve believe that the designation will help increase tourism and bring economic development to the area.

Pronatura Noroeste and the Mexican Foundation for the Conservation of Nature (FMCN) have jointly raised close to $2 million to pay for administrative costs and hope to raise an additional $2 million to cover the costs of marine patrols. 

Successful marine conservation efforts have also materialized in Panama, where ICF expanded its support in 2006. The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama City led the scientific documentation and reserve design process to create  marine protected area status for the “Las Perlas” islands and the surrounding marine habitat.  Hector Guzman, a STRI marine biologist, worked tirelessly to build a case for protecting these precious islands (known as the “Pearl Islands”), which are sparsely populated and remain relatively pristine on land.

Las Perlas has emerged as a tourist destination over the past five years, increasing pressure to develop tourism infrastructure that may impact coastal ecosystems.  Local fishing efforts have also severely reduced the near-shore bivalve species (like conch), leaving these families seeking other revenue sources, much like the fishermen in Bahía de Los Ángeles.

ICF donors funded several projects in Las Perlas in 2006-2007, including community development projects to train future ecotourism guides and a green iguana breeding project.  Working with these local communities was essential to decreeing the protected area, so that families did not feel threatened by the new park and its regulations.  In fact, STRI and CEASPA worked with local decision-makers to design projects that would help boost revenue for their communities, while at the same time, they learned more about how local families used marine resources.  This helped STRI in the reserve design process and will continue to inform the management and tourism planning processes in 2008 and beyond.

In May 2007, a presidential decree was passed in Panama to incorporate the “Programa de Manejo Costero Integral”, a program to protect coastal marine resources, increase productivity and maintain the biodiversity of its ecosystems. The reserve will protect over 417,000 acres.  STRI will stay involved as a scientific advisor for the management plans that will be created for the reserve, as well as tourism plans for the islands themselves.

Click here for a news story from Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

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