BajaNomad

El Magote Paraiso Del Mar declared unauthorized

gnukid - 9-9-2010 at 01:56 PM

http://peninsulardigital.com/mas/extra/hay-problemas-en-el-p...

Hay problemas en el Paraíso… del Mar. Declaran nula la
autorización del proyecto

Guardianes del agua, Greenpeace y el CEMNDA, aceptaron con
gusto el fallo del tribunal, no obstante, se vieron obligados a
exigir a SEMARNAT y a la Procuraduría Federal de Protección al
Ambiente, que cumplan y hagan valer la sentencia.

“El complejo turístico ‘Paraíso del Mar’ debe detenerse
inmediatamente” “SEMARNAT no fundamentó debidamente el permiso
concedido a los inversionistas”. Así lo hicieron saber
organizaciones ecologistas como Guardianes del agua, el Centro
Mexicano de Derecho Ambiental (CEMDA) y Greenpeace México,
después de que el Tribunal Federal de Justicia Fiscal y
Administrativa hizo notar una serie incumplimientos por parte
de la Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales
(SEMARNAT), para declarar nula la autorización de impacto
ambiental otorgada por dicha secretaría con el fin de llevar a
cabo el proyecto en el estero “Mogote”.

El trío ecologista sugirió que se otorgó indebidamente permiso
a los inversionistas del proyecto (3 mil 922 unidades
residenciales, un desarrollo hotelero de 2 mil 050 cuartos, dos
campos de golf de 18 hoyos cada uno, una marina exterior con
535 posiciones de atraque y una marina seca, en un área de 3.38
hectáreas, así como diversas vialidades- vaya paraíso-) ya que
ésta es de suma fragilidad ambiental. Asimismo, aseguran que
SEMARNAT no fundamentó debidamente la autorización concedida.
Agustín Bravo, representante de CEMDA Noroeste, hizo ver que la
zona donde se desarrolla el proyecto incluye un humedal de
importancia internacional, que es hábitat de diversas especies
en peligro, como el gallito marino, el tiburón ballena y los
delfines nariz de botella, “especies que de continuar la
construcción serán afectadas por la pérdida de su hábitat,
derivado de las actividades turísticas propias del proyecto
propuesto” – dijo.

Para finalizar, Agustín Bravo sentenció: “Se vuelve a confirmar
lo que todo el mundo sabe, salvo los especuladores
inmobiliarios y las autoridades corruptas: que las
autorizaciones ilegales tarde o temprano son revocadas. Lo
sucedido con éste proyecto es una muestra trágica de cómo la
especulación inmobiliaria no genera desarrollo sustentable”.
Hay que recordar que la adquisición de los terrenos fue
aprobada por el Congreso, mientras gobernaba Leonel Cota
Montaño –miembro de “La Familia”- y se realizó a un costo de
12.85 pesos el metro cuadrado.

Alejandro Olivera, coordinador de la campaña de océanos y
costas de Greenpeace, dijo que SEMARNAT suele aprobar proyectos
que ponen a disposición de los inversionistas los recursos
naturales de México, de nuestro estado, de nuestra ciudad.
“Asimismo, facilita que funcionarios estatales puedan
comercializar con dichos recursos. Leonel Cota Montaño anterior
gobernador vendió terrenos en 13 pesos el metro cuadrado
beneficiando a ‘Paraíso del Mar’, y ahora siguiendo la misma
línea, Narciso Agúndez apoya el proyecto Cabo Cortés, a pesar
de las inconsistencias en la autorización de impacto ambiental
otorgada por la SEMARNAT”.

Guardianes del agua, Greenpeace y el CEMNDA, aceptaron con
gusto el fallo del tribunal, no obstante, se vieron obligados a
exigir a SEMARNAT y a la Procuraduría Federal de Protección al
Ambiente, que cumplan y hagan valer la sentencia.

----

There are problems in paradise ... declare void the Sea
project approval

Guardians of the water, Greenpeace and the CEMNDA, agreed with
like the court's ruling, however, were forced to
require SEMARNAT and the Federal Protective
Environment, implement and enforce the sentence.
"The resort" Paradise of the Sea 'must stop
immediately "" SEMARNAT permit did not duly
granted to investors. " They did so knowing
environmental organizations as guardians of the water, the Centre
Mexican Environmental Law (CEMDA) and Greenpeace Mexico,
after the Federal Court of Justice and Attorney
Administrative deficiencies noted by a number
Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources
(SEMARNAT), to nullify the impact authorization
Environmental granted by the secretariat in order to carry
out the project in the stream "Mogote.

The trio environmentalist wrongly suggested that permission was granted
investors of the project (922 units 3000
residential, a hotel development on 2000 050 quarters, two
golf 18 holes each, an outdoor marina
535 docking stations and a dry dock in an area of 3.38
hectares, and various roads-paradise-go) as
it is very fragile environment. Also, ensure that
SEMARNAT did not duly granted authorization.
Agustín Bravo, representing Northwest CEMDA, pointed out that
area develops the project includes a wetland
international importance, which is home to several species
at risk, such as terns, the whale shark and
bottlenose dolphins, "to continue the species
construction will be affected by loss of habitat,
derived from tourism activities specific to the project
proposed "- he said.

Finally, Agustín Bravo declared: "It reconfirms
As everyone knows, except the speculators
real estate and corrupt officials: that
illegal licenses are eventually revoked. It
happened with this project is an example of how tragic
speculation does not generate sustainable development. "
Remember that the acquisition of the land was
approved by Congress, as Governor Leonel Cota
Montaño-member of "The Family" - and performed at a cost of
12.85 pesos per square meter.

Alejandro Olivera, coordinator of the oceans campaign
coast of Greenpeace, said SEMARNAT often approve projects
made available to investors resources
Mexico's natural for our state, our city.
"It makes it easier to state officials
commercialize those resources. Leonel Cota Montaño previous
Governor sold land at 13 pesos per square meter
benefiting 'Paradise of the Sea', and now following the same
line, Narciso Agundez Cabo Cortés supports the project, despite
of the inconsistencies in the environmental impact authorization
granted by SEMARNAT.

Guardians of the water, Greenpeace and the CEMNDA, agreed with
like the court's ruling, however, were forced to
require SEMARNAT and the Federal Protective
Environment, implement and enforce the sentence.

Bajahowodd - 9-9-2010 at 02:04 PM

Gotta wonder if there was laundered drug money behind the project to begin with.

longlegsinlapaz - 9-9-2010 at 02:12 PM

Well, color me surprised! Controversy over El Mogote?? NO, tell me it ain't so!

gnukid - 9-9-2010 at 02:21 PM

Just an excuse to bail out, now this will be Grande Baja all over again! Sheesh

longlegsinlapaz - 9-9-2010 at 04:56 PM

Those who doubt local sentiment, read the comments made by local residents at the bottom of the article....cut n' paste them to a translator if need be.:light:

bajajazz - 9-10-2010 at 10:34 AM

If memory serves, and that is an increasingly dubious proposition, the public story was that Mogote was leased to PDM. So now it comes out that Cota Montano SOLD Mogote to PDM for the equivalent of one Yankee dollar per square meter?

Jeez, and all this time I thought the politicos of the PRD were supposed to be the Boy Scouts who would clean house after kicking out the dirty old PRI. Will these constant disillusionments never cease?

rob - 9-10-2010 at 02:21 PM

Cracking down on the bad guys? You ain't seen nothing yet. In the latest proposed tourism law

http://www.cbcs.gob.mx/CONVOCATORIAS/P-EJECUTIVO.pdf

the state government appears to be proposing they become a sort of FONATUR, with powers to annex promising tourism real estate and develope it themselves or in partnership.

This from an organization who has been unable to grade our road in three years . . .

Be interesting to see who the invited partners are to develop the land expropriated.

Bajatripper - 9-10-2010 at 03:08 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by longlegsinlapaz
Those who doubt local sentiment, read the comments made by local residents at the bottom of the article....cut n' paste them to a translator if need be.:light:


Few people are happier than I to see this project get a second look. I would have liked to see the Mogote forever preserved as an ecological sanctuary for the local people. I have fond memories of picking the famous cirhuelas there as a child in the 1960s. That said, I can't say that most Paceños share that opinion.
The opinions that are reflected at the bottom of the article would fall in line with the elite viewpoint I found in a study on tourism I conducted in La Paz that coincided with when this project was getting off the ground. I did over 200 formal interviews and at least that many informal ones.

The study revealed that most Paceños supported the project. They were thinking in terms of jobs and economic growth (even though most of the construction people were brought over from the interior to work on the project).
Few Paceños have the means to visit the Mogote, so that likely influenced their opinion. At present, it is a non-productive entity for them. The company was astute enough to hire locals to staff jobs that came in contact with local people--such as the "beach security" who falsely claimed that the beach was closed to vehicular access by the government or turning away local people who landed on the beach by boat (I, as a foreigner, was always well-received there).
The people who were against the project tended to be from the educated elite class. At the time the project was proposed, there was a group of university students who had a slide presentation they did on the malecon during the early evening. None of the ones I talked to were from La Paz. The crowd reacted with indifference to the message of ecological destruction they presented.

Now, what to do with those ugly buildings? I like the reef idea someone proposed.

Bajahowodd - 9-10-2010 at 03:58 PM

Unfortunately, way too many people have been desperate for paying jobs. There was never a second thought about where the money was coming from, or who the developer was. Gotta say that when this project was first approved and development began, I got a lump in my throat because it just didn't seem right. There's all kinds of developable real estate in the region. This piece of property, which should have been ecologically preserved, fell prey to greed and corruption.

But then, who remembers the oysters?

[Edited on 9-10-2010 by Bajahowodd]

805gregg - 9-10-2010 at 04:20 PM

A true Mexican paradise.

bajajazz - 9-10-2010 at 07:00 PM

The Mogote development project, even if carried out in the best way possible, by highly skilled people of genuine integrity and personal honor, has always been a bad idea from the get-go because . . . it is a fundamentally ridiculous project.

Nothing about PDM has ever made the slightest sense. There is NO WAY that project will ever generate positive cash flow. Mogote is beastly hot in the summer and cold and windy in the winter. It is not a desirable place to live, play golf or do anything else other than picnic and collect sea shells.

The only sensible thing to do with Mogote is to bulldoze its neck and make an island out of it, allowing the waters of the bay to circulate and cleanse itself. That would be a positive improvement that would truly benefit La Paz.

Bajatripper - 9-10-2010 at 11:15 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by bajajazz
The Mogote development project, even if carried out in the best way possible, by highly skilled people of genuine integrity and personal honor, has always been a bad idea from the get-go because . . . it is a fundamentally ridiculous project.

Nothing about PDM has ever made the slightest sense. There is NO WAY that project will ever generate positive cash flow. Mogote is beastly hot in the summer and cold and windy in the winter. It is not a desirable place to live, play golf or do anything else other than picnic and collect sea shells.

The only sensible thing to do with Mogote is to bulldoze its neck and make an island out of it, allowing the waters of the bay to circulate and cleanse itself. That would be a positive improvement that would truly benefit La Paz.


To say nothing of the fact that it's a sand spit with no rock foundation to it. I always wondered how those tall structures were going to fare once they began settling. And I did look forward to seeing them subjected to a full-on hurricane, that could have been interesting.

I do like your idea of opening the bay up at the neck. Two centuries of human habitation do have their consequences on such an enclosed body of water. That odor we get on the malecon on a hot summer day at low tide reassures me that La Paz will never become a top international destination, at least, not the city proper. I see that happening out at Tecolote and Balandra, unfortunately.

bajajazz - 9-11-2010 at 09:20 AM

What is going on with the garbling of entries to this thread? Mine, and Bajatripper's comments read like a bad translation. Bizarre . . .

durrelllrobert - 9-11-2010 at 09:46 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by bajajazz
What is going on with the garbling of entries to this thread? Mine, and Bajatripper's comments read like a bad translation. Bizarre . . .

You mean it's not intentional :?:

Bajatripper - 9-11-2010 at 10:33 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by bajajazz
What is going on with the garbling of entries to this thread? Mine, and Bajatripper's comments read like a bad translation. Bizarre . . .


Aaahhh, so you, too, are in tune with the confusion that reigns in my head...I thought I was the only one who "got it."

wilderone - 9-12-2010 at 10:09 AM

More destruction than you know:

http://www.seawatch.org/nletter/Martillo-Mogote_PDF.pdf

longlegsinlapaz - 9-12-2010 at 10:48 AM

wilderone.....excellent article.....but very sad. IMO, education, better laws & enforcement of those laws is the key, but it's hard to teach a fisherman who has a family to feed. Here in manana-land, they simply don't seem to understand that through conservation today, there will actually continue to BE a manana for their children.

In so many cultures, everything seems to boil down to greed & the almighty dollar/peso/moolah! Only years of educating the young not to sell their soul today without regard for manana, will bring about positive change in how the people of La Paz view their birthright & the sale of that birthright by the politicians....who were elected to safeguard the public's best interests....not their own personal best interests!

IMO, the destruction of the tip of Mogote is criminal, as is the total disregard for the multitude of aquatic species in the Bay of La Paz....the person/people responsible for the sale not only sold a piece of La Paz's soul, it's sold a huge number of it's mananas!