When seen through the lens of economic development, the dramatic landscapes and marine environment in Baja California Sur can be viewed as one of the state’s major obstacles or as one of its most important assets.  The state’s rugged coastline and mountainous terrain exacerbates connectivity and infrastructure problems for its isolated rural populations; yet it is those very same qualities that have enabled the diverse and fragile ecosystems to maintain their integrity and beauty. 

Baja California Sur contains pristine and diverse plant and animal life throughout its coastal, mountain, marine, and desert ecosystems.  Recognizing this, the federal government, through the National Commission for Natural Protected Areas (CONANP), agreed to protect and manage 41% of the territory of Baja California Sur by declaring six Natural Protected Areas (ANPs). These ANPs presently occupy 8.7% of Mexico’s protected territory, representing over 65,637 mi².

As a result, the state ranks second only to Baja California as the state with the greatest amount of territory under protected status.  One of the significant challenges facing the ANPs is to overcome the perception that conservation is an opponent of development, and indeed to show that conservation is indispensable to maintaining a continual source of natural resources for future economic growth and development.

Despite the federal interest in protecting these unique resources, federal agencies are out of synch with their municipal and state counterparts, some of which do not even exist.  Because so much territory is already devoted to protected areas, the state government is reluctant to embrace new protected areas, especially in the state’s coastal zone.  For this reason, models of sustainable development projects need to be given high visibility and promotion.[2]

Source:  CONANP website http://www.conanp.gob.mx/anp/anp.php, 2005.

Although the six ANPs located in Baja California Sur are outstanding examples of the unique biodiversity of the Baja California peninsula, they all suffer from insufficient financial resources and external pressures from land speculation and coastal development.[3]  The World Bank’s Global Environment Facility (GEF), other multilateral organizations, private businesses, and international nonprofits are currently supporting conservation, restoration, sustainable usage, and scientific research projects; funding is channeled through CONANP or through third parties that support the ANP management programs.[4]  New donors and funding partnerships must emerge to continue to preserve these diverse and globally significant ecosystems.  The good news is that efforts are now underway on this front through the leadership of Fondo Mexicano para la Conservación de la Naturaleza (FMCN) and the Guaymas-based nonprofit, Comunidad y Biodiversidad (COBI).

The role of the natural protected areas and their management policy is to provide a sustainable orientation to development in Baja California Sur. There is still, however, a great lack of knowledge regarding the natural wealth offered by the ANPs at the local, regional, national, and international levels.  The management programs considered to be the guiding documents for each ANP have not been well-circulated, and tools to orient and inform the public in general as to the programs’ existence, such as signs, are scarce or non-existent in some ANPs.[5]

Consequently, there are areas in the state that still lack protection and that are unique because of their ecological values.  However, before increasing the protected area under management in the state, sustainable opportunities must be pursued on the ANPs that already exist so that decision-makers can see the true value of these resources.  By the same token, it is important to highlight the leadership role that promotes sustainable development in the ANPs and other fragile areas.