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jaymtb
Junior Nomad
Posts: 92
Registered: 3-30-2004
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Update on Cabo Pulmo Development, (Cabo Cortés Project) Links
Information links re Cabo Cortés project:
You may have heard of this before. It is to cover 4000 hectares, have a large desal plant, golf courses, marina, homes, hotels. The scale and
size are unbelievable.
I'm first a bit astonished that investment capital can be found for this size of project, given the over-built market, and reluctance of tourists to
visit Mexico. However, the location is more troubling, given the sensitivity of the Cabo Pulmo reef.
Cabo Pulmo National Marine Park is a World Heritage Bio Reserve (UNESCO/United Nations program). It is a resource which is vital for sustaining the
balance of marine and other life forms in the Gulf of California/Sea of Cortez.
Links:
http://mexidata.info/id2688.html
http://www.laprensasa.com/2.0/3/309/712596/America-in-Englis...
http://www.wildcoast.net/site/index.php?option=com_content&a...
Cabo Pulmo Vivo site opposing project with petition:
http://www.cabopulmovivo.org/portal/index.php?option=com_for...
Thanks,
Jay
P.S.: If you don't read Spanish here is an English translation of the petition
If you cannot read the box for submitting the form: Nombre(s) = First Name(s) ; Appellido(s) = Last Name(s); Cuidad = City; Estado = State; and Correo
Electronico = Email:
Petition translation in English:
We, the undersigned, respectfully request the immediate revocation of permits for the construction of the resort property "Cabo Cortés " consisting of
3,655 hotel rooms and more than 7,800 residences (a total of 30,000 rooms ), 2 golf courses with 27 holes and a marina adjacent Cabo Pulmo National
(Marine) Park, Municipality of Los Cabos.Our reasons are as follows:... See More
• The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) filed by the company contains false claims and the authorizations issued by SEMARNAT do not respect
existing environmental legislation.
• The project presents a serious threat to Cabo Pulmo National Park, which houses the richest ecosystem and with greatest abundance in the Gulf of
California and, furthermore, represents one of the clearest successes of restoration of a marine area in the country.
• The Cabo Cortés project is inconsistent with the provisions of existing ecological regulations in the region, such as the Ecological Management Plan
of the Municipality of Los Cabos and Management Program for Cabo Pulmo National Park.
• The project also violates international commitments made by Mexico, endangering an ecosystem designated as a priority site for conservation of
wetlands (RAMSAR Convention) and a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
• The main impacts this project presents include reef sedimentation caused by construction of a marina for 490 boats, disruption to marine life caused
by discharges from the desalinization plant and other debris, alterations to the coastline by sand dune modification and loss of important beaches for
sea turtle nesting.
• In Baja California Sur water is scarce. That is why the Los Cabos Ecological Management Plan provides that each new development must ensure its own
supply of water. The water concession by the CAN [National Commission of Water] to Cabo Cortés represents an amount equivalent to what 82,000 people
consume in a single day.
We are convinced that the only development that is sustainable is that which occurs without compromising our natural resources and the social
wellbeing of our citizens. A project on the scale of Cabo Cortes (the largest that has been planned in Baja California Sur), so close to one of the
best preserved marine ecosystems in the country, is contrary to any definition of sustainability.
The community of Cabo Pulmo, federal , state and municipal governments, academics, civic organizations, and thousands of people around the world have
for 15 years invested human and material resources in the conservation of Cabo Pulmo. Today we have tangible results that make this a unique place in
the world. Do not put what we have achieved at risk.
There is still time to correct this error. Do not let non-sustainable developments affect Cabo Pulmo National Park .
The first step is to revoke authorizations for the construction of the resort property "Cabo Cortés. "
Many thanks - Cabo Pulmo Alive!
[Edited on 7-11-2010 by jaymtb]
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fishabductor
Senior Nomad
Posts: 800
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Good luck...The spaniards have way too much money!! A petition won't do squat. The spaniards have already invested somewhere in the neighborhood of
$250-$300 million in property in the area. They are already tight with the government.
You may get a ton of foreigner signatures, but you won't get many mexican signatures short of the local Castro family. Frankly I think for every
signature you get...the spaniards will just throw in more cash.
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Osprey
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3694
Registered: 5-23-2004
Location: Baja Ca. Sur
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Sorry Fishman, can't have just one view here >> this is the Nomad Forum. I will remind you that the S in PIGS, Portugal, Italy, Greece and
Spain, stands for the last one of the four European countries admittedly on the brink of sliding into the financial porceline receptacle. You might be
talking about the money Hansa USED TO HAVE, the borrowing potential THEY USED TO HAVE. If they had so much dough and clout, why did they hire McCarthy
to get their permits, put themselves through so much public ridicule when he was charged with INFLUENCE PEDDLING on the project?
I'm just saying....
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monoloco
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6667
Registered: 7-13-2009
Location: Pescadero BCS
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I would be really surprised to see this project going forward in the current risk adverse environment.
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fishabductor
Senior Nomad
Posts: 800
Registered: 5-29-2010
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Osprey
Sorry Fishman, can't have just one view here >> this is the Nomad Forum. I will remind you that the S in PIGS, Portugal, Italy, Greece and
Spain, stands for the last one of the four European countries admittedly on the brink of sliding into the financial porceline receptacle. You might be
talking about the money Hansa USED TO HAVE, the borrowing potential THEY USED TO HAVE. If they had so much dough and clout, why did they hire McCarthy
to get their permits, put themselves through so much public ridicule when he was charged with INFLUENCE PEDDLING on the project?
I'm just saying.... |
I hear you Osprey. I have had this same discussion about the Group with several others. We were talking how much the interest was alone on the
properties they bought. If they are broke, then the project won't happen anyways. They will default on the loans they had, or they will lose
everything they invested.
I hope they don't do the project, but I don't think a petition will help. I think it'd do about much good as a petition to stop police corruption in
CCD.
The project would however be good for the economy, provide lots of jobs( in Plumo and la ribera as well), create revenue for government agencies
(permits, EIS, profepa, semanac...etc) given all this and the possibility of greasing the wheels. I just think that the project will go forward( if
they have the funds)... To much good for the local economy, regardless if we like it or not.
Just my .02.
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wilderone
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3821
Registered: 2-9-2004
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Sign the petition - speak out - if you do nothing, you are allowing the force for development to continue.
www.cabopulmovivo.org
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Osprey
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3694
Registered: 5-23-2004
Location: Baja Ca. Sur
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Abguy, won't help us locally while they are building as the workforce will be from Mexico. They gave us a clinic/hospital for their potential buyers,
not for us --- WE HAVE A CLINIC. They'll need all our water (not like the guys in Loreto Bay Company whose grand scheme was to plant trees which would
grow to become a forest which would create a Northwestern Washington rain forest and change everything forever for everone down here). They can't
build a major airport because Mexican law forbids that within 100 miles from a competitor (La Paz/Los Cabos) that's why the Gov is giving them a pass
on an airport near his home/ranch at Santiago to be used FOR CARGO?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
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tiotomasbcs
Super Nomad
Posts: 1837
Registered: 7-30-2007
Location: El Pescadero
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Osprey is right about the locals getting very little good out of the project! Workers come from the interior who will work harder than locals and for
less!! Not to blame the locals they are just too kicked back to work 10hr days! I'm with them, let's go fishing early and take siestas in a hammock
all afternoon. Eventually the East Cape will all be developed but not in my lifetime. La Ribera w/new homes and marina is going very slowly,
verdad? Few buyers to take the risk. I'm thankful the recession has slowed down Progress?!  Tranquilo
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fishabductor
Senior Nomad
Posts: 800
Registered: 5-29-2010
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It still creates jobs. Materials will have to be bought somewhere locally, so will food for the workers, Gasoline...as well as fishing gear for the
workers. the local government will get money in construction permits..etc. And this is just the construction phase.
Once(if ever) thoses 30k rooms are occupied, then there will be a huge demand, for local goods and services. It will create local jobs in one way or
the other, The bad part it will create so many jobs that the locals who want to work won't be adequate, outside workers will be required to fill the
labor pool. And workers from the interior will bring change and trouble.
I am totally against it. I moved out to the eastcape for solitude. I want the crappy dirt road to stay forever. this will change the eastcape for the
worse, as will any other major developement out here.
I am just saying I don't think a gringo petition is going to stop the machine.
Hopefully they'll run out of money or go bankrupt. Maybe the project will be such a bust that others won't attempt this again for another 20yrs!!
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Curt63
Super Nomad
Posts: 1171
Registered: 3-28-2009
Location: San Diego, Ca.
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Mood: Fish tacos and Tecate
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Cabo Pulmo is a wonderful rustic place. I dove the Coral Reef about 5 weeks ago and it is spectacular!
I was watching a presentation by some UCSD oceanographic researchers and they reported that the 15 years as a national park has allowed the the sea
life to really recover from overfishing. They reported a thriving eco system, hammerheads and even mature tiger sharks. This may be one of the few
places to see what the SOC was 20 years ago.
I also signed the petition at the dive shop. Let the developers develop something thats already over-developed. Not this pristine Baja beauty.
[Edited on 4-22-2011 by BajaNomad]
No worries
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BajaNews
Super Moderator
Posts: 1439
Registered: 12-11-2005
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Unique coral reef at Cabo Pulmo spurs tourism battle
http://www.canada.com/travel/story.html?id=3313374
By Sophie Nicholson
July 23, 2010
CABO PULMO, Mexico - A 20,000 year-old coral reef, the only one in the Gulf of California, is at the center of a dispute over a huge tourist
development which could draw thousands to a remote part of Mexico.
At the moment, most only hear about Cabo Pulmo, where pristine beaches meet a turquoise sea, by word of mouth.
American tourist Lenny McCarl said he discovered the village thanks to his girlfriend’s family, during a visit in June.
"I like the little niche up here. You drive two hours outside of Cabo San Lucas and you’re only 80 miles (130 kilometers) away, but there’s no houses,
there’s just a villa here, a villa there," McCarl said, standing on the beach.
The site is less than two hours north of Cabo San Lucas and its luxury hotels and Hollywood celebrity-owned mansions, which have transformed the south
of the peninsula in the past few decades.
The village also lies next to the site for one of Mexico’s largest tourist development projects.
A wire fence marks out some 4,000 hectares destined to include several thousand hotel rooms and condominiums rising in five stages over 25 years.
The 500-million-dollar plan includes a tourist town "where school children will parade on the plaza," a jet port for private planes and golf courses.
Locals and environmental groups say the scale of the project is bound to impact on the land as well as the sea -- with runoff from golf courses,
desalinisation facilities and large yachts in a new marina.
"The government is blocking its ears and allowing a project like this, right on the limit of the marine reserve. As if there’ll be no damage beyond an
imaginary line," said Enrique Castro, whose family has lived in the area for five generations.
Commercial fishing is now banned and locals have spent 15 years changing their habits to try to preserve the reef under a government plan hailed as an
example of conservation by ecologists.
Activities still revolve around the marine-rich Gulf of California, once nicknamed the "world’s aquarium" by French explorer Jacques Cousteau.
Spanish company Hansa Urbana has meanwhile gathered permits to start building the Cabo Cortes development, including requirements for protecting the
environment.
Such measures, including a ban on lights on the beach to avoid disturbing endangered turtles, water recycling and solar power, make the project 40
percent more expensive, representative Sergio Tabansky told AFP in Mexico City.
More than 60 percent of the land would be left for conservation, Tabansky said, admitting the eco-friendly label was also a good selling point.
"We want to help Mexico by giving jobs to Mexicans," Tabansky added, as the country struggles to emerge from one of its worst economic crises in
years.
The H1N1 swine flu and the global crisis contributed to a drop of 1.1 million tourists in 2009 compared with the previous year, and a
two-billion-dollar loss in revenues, the tourism ministry said recently.
Promotions and development plans are again picking up in a country which hosts some 22-23 million foreign tourists each year.
"Development is inevitable. What we can avoid are the (bad) terms under which we develop, right?" said Alejandro Gonzalez, who manages the Cabo Pulmo
marine park for the government.
A handful of security guards patrol the vast site for Cabo Cortes on quad bikes for now, as the crisis has slowed construction.
Juan Castro, a former diver for pearls, and other locals hope the delay will buy them time to stop it completely.
"If the government allows this development, we can say that the government is the only one responsible for whatever damage is done to the reef,"
Castro said.
"It’s the heritage of humanity. It’s not mine, it’s not yours."
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BajaNews
Super Moderator
Posts: 1439
Registered: 12-11-2005
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Development Threatens Lone Coral Reef in Sea of Cortez
http://mexidata.info/id2688.html
Cabo Pulmo (Mexico), June 4 (EFE) – Cabo Pulmo, the only coral reef in the Gulf of California [Sea of Cortez], and the northernmost in the eastern
Pacific Ocean, is in danger as a result of the permit granted by the Mexican government to the Spanish builder Hansa to develop a huge tourist complex
adjacent [to the coral reef].
The reef is about 20,000 years old, which makes it one of the oldest in the American Pacific, and it is home to 226 of the 875 species of fish that
exist in the Gulf of California, according to official information.
In the area it is common to see four species of sea turtles; dolphins; sea lions; whale, tiger and bull sharks; and it is a transit route of humpback
and blue whales.
It was declared a protected area in 1995 by Mexican officials, and today it is a national park with 7,111 hectares [27.5 square miles], 99% of them in
the sea.
There is a small community of 80 residents on its coast who take care of this natural heritage, and provide tourist services such as diving, water
skiing, boating, sportfishing and camping.
However, the Alicante (Spain) group Hansa Urbana, with approval already granted by environmental authorities, will build an integrally planned massive
tourist [resort] on an area of 4,000 hectares [15.4 square miles] adjacent to Cabo Pulmo.
The tourist town, called "Cabo Cortés," will include hotels, homes, condominiums, marinas, golf courses, shopping centers, a village for workers, a
church, medical services and an airport for private planes, among other facilities.
The director of the Cabo Pulmo National Park, Javier Alejandro Gonzalez, said in an interview with EFE that the project's plans are to build up to
30,600 hotel rooms, or 10,200 more homes.
Gonzalez, an official with the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (Conanp), noted that said agency produced a technical report that
concluded the Environmental Impact Statement of "Cabo Cortés had inaccuracies on several points," and data that "was not validated."
According to Gonzalez, Conanp fears that after construction begins on the marinas, which will berth boats and luxury yachts, "a significant sediment
suspension" may be produced in the water, and that in the future the boat traffic and greater number of visitors to the Cabo Pulmo area may exert
"increased pressure" on the reef.
In his opinion, authorities must be able to confront these environmental risks of the development, to which he is not opposed.
A more negative view is shared by a group of environmental NGOs that have formed a coalition to fight for the reef and to stop the development.
That group is led by the U.S. [NGO] Wildcoast; the Mexican [NGOs] Niparajá, Pro Natura Northwest, Community and Diversity, [and] Friends of Cabo
Pulmo; [and] academics from Scripps Center in the U.S., and the Autonomous University of Baja California Sur.
One member, Mexican oceanographer Octavio Aburto from Scripps Research Institute, told EFE that the value of Cabo Pulmo is that it is an ecosystem
that helps to repopulate fish communities "in areas adjacent to the park, which allows fisheries production that is the basis of some economies on the
Gulf of California to increase."
Aburto's calculations indicate that the reef has on average five tons of fish per hectare, 60% of which are large predatory species such as sharks.
For her part Fay Crevoshay, the communications director of the NGO Wildcoast, argued that the several golf courses the tourist citadel will have "use
chemicals that will flow into the sea when it rains and kill the coral."
She also said it is "schizophrenic" for Mexican authorities [to have created] a national park, which they preserved for years, and then "they grant a
permit to a developer in order to destroy it."
"What will the next generations that come here, not only from Mexico but from the whole world, see: a reef destroyed and dead," lamented Juan Castro,
a leader of the community that resides on Cabo Pulmo and that has been in charge of taking care of the fragile marine ecosystem for about 15 years.
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Cardon Man
Super Nomad
Posts: 1319
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Location: Thetis Bank
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Mood: !Al Chingaso!
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I wish them no luck at all. There are more than enough hotel rooms and golf courses in the Los Cabos corridor.
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Bob H
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5867
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Location: San Diego
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There goes another wonderful, natural place, in Baja.
http://www.cabocortes.com/
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wilderone
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3821
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sign the petition
http://www.cabopulmovivo.org/portal/index.php?option=com_for...
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Kimpatsu_Hekigan
Junior Nomad
Posts: 57
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Cabo Pulmo threatened by Spanish resort mega-development
Here's a brief article and a great photo essay about the planned resort mega-development at Cabo Pulmo on the East Cape in BCS. Click
on this link:
Sea of Cortez World Heritage Site Threatened by Resort Development
"If the development goes through, the sleepy and white sand fringed Cabo Pulmo will be joined by 40,000 new
residents in a complex that will include hotels, condominiums, a 490 slip marina, two golf courses, and shopping centers."
FWIW,
-- K.H.
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Cap
Nomad
Posts: 202
Registered: 4-20-2007
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Que lastima,
inevitable though. The place is beautiful! I have fond memories of landing on a sandy strip for a day trip, and leaving the following month.
Half full glass:
Spend time with loved ones there ala- Resolve to take Nena and Steve there to see it before it gets developed in hopes they will photgraph/document
it.
Send nicely worded emails to the developers in hopes of them preserving the environment of the area as much as possible and maybe even an airstrip.
Not get too worked up over this as many of the best layed devastation plans in Mexico find insurmountable obstacles. 
Fly low, land on roads.
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wilderone
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3821
Registered: 2-9-2004
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Update on Cabo Pulmo development project
I received this email from the Cabo Pulmo group that organized against the development: (see - your individual action can make a difference)
"Cabo Pulmo Vivo collective likes to thank you for your support in the campain of Cabo Pulmo National Park protection, a global example of
sustainability facing mass tourism and real estate growth threats.
Your signature, together with more than 11,000 people, managed that SEMARNAT temporarily suspend the Cabo Cortés project, which would bring more than
30 thousand rooms, 3 golf courses and a marina to this unique region, ecologically fragile and with severe water scarcity problems. Cabo Pulmo
requires a different regional development model with a positive impact on the local community well being.
Thanks to your support, SEMARNAT is now considering fundamental aspects that had left out of its initial analysis. In the days to come, SEMARNAT will
again resolve if it grants authorization to the environmental impact study to Cabo Cortés.
We invite you to sign in www.cabopulmovivo.org, to remind our authorities that we are very aware of its decision.
Your support has made a difference, but the future of Cabo Pulmo still at risk. If you allow us, we will continue to contact you, sharing news and
ways in which you can continue to work to ensure the effective protection of this reef, a natural heritage site.
Thank you!
Cabo Pulmo vivo
http://www.cabopulmovivo.org"
[Edited on 1-30-2011 by BajaNomad]
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Sharrone
Junior Nomad
Posts: 73
Registered: 6-13-2007
Location: El Cardonal, Baja Sur
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Just signed. Thanks for posting.
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captkw
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3850
Registered: 10-19-2010
Location: el charro b.c.s.
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Mood: new dog/missing the old 1
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maybe Ive seen too many development,s down here,, turn into destructionment and were are all these gringo's ?to fill em up???
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