Laguna San Ignacio deal signed and sealed
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/tijuana/20051026-9...
Unique deal will save 120,000 acres in Baja
By Sandra Dibble
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
October 26, 2005
TIJUANA ? A warm-water lagoon along the Baja California peninsula known as a refuge for migratory gray whales yesterday became the site of a
precedent-setting private conservation measure hailed by environmentalists from both sides of the border.
The agreement, signed in Tijuana, protects 120,000 acres along the shores of Laguna San Ignacio in Baja California Sur. Members of the Ejido Luis
Echeverr?a, a land collective, have unanimously agreed to limit development on their property in exchange for a $25,000 annual payment to be used as
seed money for low-impact development projects.
"This is a historic moment," said Ra?l L?pez, president of the 43-member ejido, his voice breaking with emotion. "We see conservation as an
opportunity for development."
The agreement affects a sparsely populated desert region whose residents have few economic opportunities, and growing numbers are selling off coastal
stretches to developers and land speculators.
The Laguna San Ignacio Conservation Alliance eventually hopes to preserve 1 million acres along the lagoon by negotiating with five other ejidos. U.S.
conservation groups in the alliance include the New York-based Natural Resources Defense Council, which has raised nearly $1.5 million, and the
Imperial Beach-based group, Wildcoast.
Though conservation easements, or private land trusts, have been negotiated with other ejidos, this would be the first time that an ejido's entire
territory comes under private protection.
Yesterday's legally binding agreement involves the creation of a conservation easement that covers 80 percent of the ejido's territory. Mexico's
largest and oldest conservation group, Pronatura, will monitor the agreement, and the San Diego-based conservation group, the International Community
Foundation, will maintain the trust fund.
Eventually, the remaining 20 percent of the ejido will be protected after a second agreement that would give members a one-time payment of $545,000.
The agreement "puts in place very clear rules of engagement," said Enrique Hambleton, president of Pronatura Noroeste.
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