Conservation of Private Lands Program

Having sustainbale development and social justice as main guiding principals, Pronatura Noroeste has secured the conservation of private and ejido properties of high ecological value through a series of economic, technical and legal instruments. Since the beginning of its operations in northwestern Mexico, the Private and Communal Lands Conservation Program has created alternatives for community development and has signed legal contracts with individuals and communities to establish 50 land conservation easements that have secured the protection of 73,000 hectares in priority areas. During the next five years, we forsee the protection of close to 600,000 hectares.

Program Achievements

  • Tijuana-Tecate border corridor (California Floristic Province, Baja California): 819 hectares protected in perpetuity by a conservation easement; binational conservation area of 2,000 hectares.
  • La Asamblea-San Francisquito coastal corridor (Bahía de los Ángeles, Gulf of California): 1,200 hectares protected in perpetuity by a network of 15 conservation easements.
  • Ejido Luis Echeverría Alvarez (Laguna San Ignacio, Baja California Sur): 53,000 hectares protected in perpetuity by means of 32 conservation easements, including the largest conservation easement in Mexico (47,000 hectares).
  • Santo Domingo (Bahía Magdalena, BCS): Portafolio for priority conservation sites and training workshops for landowners and community members.
  • Península de Lucenilla (Sinaloa): 6,500 hectares protected in perpetuity by a conservation easement and the design of a restoration and management plan.
  • Bahía Santa María (Sinaloa): Acquisition and legal protection of more than 500 hectares of priority wetlands.
  • Ejido El Palmito (Sinaloa): 5,000 hectares protected by a conservation easement (30 years).
  • Sierra de Álamos (Sonora): Support to our allies for the acquisition and protection of 6,000 hectares.
  • Wetlands of the south of Sonora: Portfolio for the conservation of sites and training workshops for landowners and community members.
  • Total area secured: 73,000 hectares, 50 conservation easements

Technical Personnel of the Program

Ocean. Miguel Angel Vargas Tellez / Program Director [CV]

Lic. Fernando Ochoa Pineda / Legal Advisor[CV]

Lic. Marco Carignan / Legal Advisor [CV]

Dr. Carlos Valdes-Casillas / Site Leader, Sierra de Alamos, Son. [CV]

 

BANNER PROJECT:
Conservation of Ejido Lands in the San Ignacio Lagoon, B.C.S.

To secure the protection of the San Ignacio Lagoon, a critical habitat for the gray whale and many species of migratory birds, Pronatura Noroeste, Wildcoast, International Community Foundation, Internacional Fund for Animal Welfare, T.V. Azteca, Ejido Luís Echeverría, Comunidad Maijanu A.C., Natural Resources Defense Council, Fundación Mexicana para la Educación Ambiental, Fondo Mexicano para la Conservación de la Naturaleza, and the Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas created the “San Ignacio Lagoon Conservation Alliance”.

Photo: Fernando Ochoa

Through this alliance, we established an endowment fund to offer economic incentives for ejidatarios committed to protecting the lagoon in a voluntary and fomral way. To date, we have secured the protection in perpetuity of 53,000 hectares, resulting from the establishment of 32 conservation easements. These contracts involve the allocation of funds for investment projects, the acquisition of land, the designation of national land for conservation and a concession to conserve the federal maritime-terrestrial zone.

In 2008, we plan to secure the conservation of at least 10,000 additional hectares of coastal land and to begin the application process for the concession to conserve the federal maritime-terrestrial zone of the entire lagoon. The final goal of the project is the conservation of one milion hectares in this priority region.

SUCCESSFUL CASE: Rigoberto Sánchez Mosqueda

On June 16th, 2007, Rigoberto Sánchez Mosqueda signed a conservation easement contract to protect 641 hectares of his parcel of the Luis Echeverría Álvarez Ejido. The project included the establishment of a hydroponic greenhouse for the production of up to 10 tons of feed for 60 goats each month, in order to commercialize their milk products and meat.

Photo: Miguel Angel Vargas

 

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© D. R. Pronatura Noroeste, A.C. Calle Décima #60 (esquina Ryerson) Zona Centro
Ensenada, Baja California CP 22800 Mexico. Tel./Fax (646) 175 3461
E-mail: contacto@pronatura-noroeste.org