Pronatura denounces the illegal sale of land in Bahía de los Ángeles

El Vigía
18th of January, 2008
Bulletin

An advertisement published in Mexico informs of a public sale of coastal terrain located within a protected zone, making the terrain not apt for tourist development.

Mexico, D. F. - On the 16th of January, Remax and Sheldon Good Mexico published an advertisement in Mexico City´s newspaper, Reforma, announcing the public sale of a terrain, with a total surface area of 95 hectares found along the coasts of Bahía de los Ángeles, located on the eastern coast of the state of Baja California, in the central region of the Gulf of California.

The advertisement describes the terrain as a “great opportunity for development on the beach” in “one of the eleven destinations included in the mega-development project Escalera Náutica”.

However, the public advertisement does not establish that the terrain in question is located within the “Valle de los Cirios” Protected Area of Flora and Fauna, adjacent to the Biosphere Reserve “Bahía de los Ángeles and Whale Channel and Salsipuedes”, both areas under federal protection.

With this information, it is necessary to pose a few questions for those interested in acquiring the terrain in question.

Bahía de los Ángeles forms part of one of the most important and best conserved ecological regions in the world. Its geographic isolation, dimensions and orthographic characteristics have maintained a relatively low population density and a mostly pristine environment.

It is still very possible to find fragile ecosystems and threatened species of flora and fauna protected by Mexican law in both the marine and terrestrial environments of the region. Such is the case with the whale sharks, that utilizes the a bay in Bahía de los Ángeles as a feeding zone during the months of August through November, providing an opportunity for sustainable and profitable ecotourism activities for the local community.

Due to the high incidence of important species and the confluence of two natural protected areas, it is important to point out that Bahía de los Ángeles does not present the necessary aptitude or natural vocation for the establishment of tourist, residential or nautical mega-developments in the region, as described in the advertisement.

Furthermore, the region does not provide the appropriate environment for the establishment of golf courses, while the scarcity of water makes the construction of infrastructure known as “Great Tourism” found in Cancún or Los Cabos hardly viable, as the area is located within a desert zone.

Any project proposed for the area will be subject to rigorous evaluation, in an effort to avoid any environmental harm to coastline that could result in negative effects for the flora, fauna, ecosystems or local economy of the region.