Dos Mares Biosphere Reserve, Mexico
Goal: Catalyze the designation of the Dos Mares Biosphere Reserve, creating 192,000 km2 of new protections in Baja California Sur
Alliance Partnership
Beta Diversidad (a local environmental nonprofit) and DEPESCA (an artisanal fishing association) are partnering with the Alliance to support the development of a new marine protected area (MPA) encompassing Baja California Sur.
Critical habitat for endangered species and the backbone of local livelihoods.
The waters around Baja California Sur provide critical habitat for endangered, highly migratory marine species like the scalloped hammerhead shark, whale shark, giant manta rays, and many whale species. The area is also a critical source of forage fish, which are the base for a highly productive marine ecosystem and the primary food source for many predatory species.
In Baja California Sur, nearly 8,000 artisanal fishers and their families, thousands of sport fishers, and nautical tourism service providers depend on abundant seas to survive.
Finding solutions that support the environment and economy
Industrial fishing, unregulated tourism, and deep-sea mining are the main threats to the seas surrounding Baja California. The only legal and comprehensive tool that can stop, prevent, and reverse the effects of these activities is a type of MPA categorized as a Biosphere Reserve.
“The most important group to protect are the artisanal fishers (and their families), because their livelihood is fully impacted”.
– Mario Gómez, CEO of Beta Diversidad
A major step towards protected area connectivity in the region
Artisanal fishers, sport fishers, nautical tourism service providers, NGO representatives, academics, scientists, and residents of Baja California Sur are calling on national and local authorities to designate the Dos Mares Biosphere Reserve.
The establishment of this protected area would contribute to a network of marine reserves connecting critical habitats for endangered species in the Eastern Tropical Pacific and extending protections for highly migratory species that traffic Mexico’s Revillagigedo National Park.
This new MPA will be designed to respect the uses and traditions of artisanal fishing communities, increase their catches, and improve their quality of life.
It will also protect the marine life that exists in the region and organize productive activities like ocean-based tourism. According to specialists, Dos Mares could benefit nearly 22,000 people in Baja California Sur, the state GDP could increase by 4.28%, and the production of the artisanal fishing sector could grow by 20.24%.