Tourism and real estate projects threaten mangroves in El Mogote, BCS

The impacts of urban growth near mangrove forests in El Mogote, Baja California Sur, in northwestern Mexico, are evident to the Guardians of El Conchalito, a group of 12 organized women who have taken action to restore it. However, along the way, they accuse having been criminalized by the Federal Attorney's Office for Environmental Protection (Profepa) and the private security of real estate and tourism projects in the area.

Since 2023, The Guardianas began monitoring the mangrove forests of El Mogote with the support of the Costa Salvaje organization and the National Commission for Protected Natural Areas (Conanp), the latter being responsible for conserving part of a federal zone on the coastline of El Mogote through an agreement.

Once a month, they leave their multiple occupations, rent a boat with a captain and spend a whole day crossing the Bay of La Paz to El Mogote. There they identify the different mangrove species that exist, their flower, their fruit and their seed, to restore the forest by planting and collecting seeds.

“The truth is that it is a job that requires many hours because you have to walk long distances and we depend on the tide to be able to do it. For El Mogote, we have to rent a boat, hire a captain, (pay for) gas because it's a larger area and requires more expenses such as food, which depend on the hours and the material used regularly, such as measuring tapes,” explained Daniela Bareño, a member of Las Guardianas.

^{Guardians of El Conchalito, Costa Salvaje and Conanp monitoring mangroves in El Mogote. Source: The Guardians of El} Conchalito

In doing these tasks in El Mogote, the Guardianas accuse having been disturbed by the private security of the tourist and residential megaproject Paraíso del Mar, which through its developer, the company Desarrollos Punta La Paz, owns about 350 hectares in the area it purchased from the Government of Baja California Sur in 2002 and another 158.34 hectares from individuals.

“Back in El Mogote, the companions have been run. They called Profepa and Profepa has come to want to remove them. We are trying to do good and sometimes it is very frustrating that they give priority to those who have more money, to those who did harm to the ecosystem than to us who want to restore and do this kind of thing. But if we have had problems with the people at the hotel, they send the guards to get our attention, to run to us and Profepa intervenes in that. But my colleagues are adamant that they are not going to leave because it is a public space and they are not leaving,” Bareño reported.

As of today, the Paraíso del Mar project has condominiums, houses and 1,686 residential lots for sale; a championship golf course, tennis court and four pickleball courts; two pools, a port, which threaten mangrove forests, which are recognized as a Ramsar site.

For this article, an interview was requested via telephone, email and WhatsApp from Paraíso del Mar, but until the time the text was edited, no response was received from him.

^{Condos and residences in Paraíso del Mar in El Mogote. Source: Octavio} Aburto

In Baja California Sur, natural coastal wetland cover remained constant from 2000 to 2019. However, losses were observed in the Ensenada de La Paz, according to a paper by Miguel Sánchez, a researcher at the Center for Food and Development Research (CIAD) at the VI Mexican Congress of Mangrove Ecosystems in 2023.

At the same event, Giovanni Ávila-Flores, researcher at the Academic Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences at the Autonomous University of Baja California Sur, stated that the seven mangroves in La Paz Bay face similar pressure factors, the main of which is urban development and land use change, as The Guardianas say is happening in El Mogote.

“What affects there are the spaces they have been taking over for buildings. In one part of the condominiums, they pruned a lot of mangroves and also blocked a water inlet. A year ago we started taking tours. The Sinaloan organization Sustainable Wetlands carried out a hydrological study and water samples were taken. The result was that there was a lot of salinity; this is also because since there is no longer flow, the water stagnates, produces too much salt and causes the mangrove to dry out. The affected area is large and it is urgent that it be restored so that it does not continue to dry out,” Bareño said.

^{Daniela Bareño doing monitoring in El Mogote. Source: The Guardians of El} Conchalito

The future of El Mogote

Paraíso del Mar has not exploited its full potential, since according to its master plan and its environmental impact statement, it intends to build a hotel with 2,120 rooms, a second golf course, a beach club, an extended golf club house, a private marina for 500 spaces, restaurants and a market.

^{Master plan for Paraíso del Mar in El Mogote. Source: Paraíso del Mar}

Paraíso del Mar has proclaimed El Mogote as “the best living island” and sells it to its customers as “a private tourist community with an area of one and a half kilometers of secluded beach that you can call your own”, according to its website.

Despite this, The Guardians are determined to protect their mangrove forests, because that ecosystem represents the future of South California and fishing traditions that provide well-being to the local community.

“Fishermen are the ones who take the most care of these types of ecosystems and spaces because we use them in a responsible way. We know that if there is a restored ecosystem, there will be healthy marine species and we will have sustainable fishing, since the mangrove serves as a nursery for fish and many other species. For me, it's worth taking care of it because it's leaving a seed for future generations and it's doing good for everyone,” Bareño said.

In addition to Paraíso del Mar, there are many other projects seeking to establish themselves in El Mogote, close to mangroves and wetlands, such as the Lumai project, which was denied environmental impact authorization by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources.