Loreto Bay National Park & Isla Danzante
Instilling pride…this could be the key to saving the planet. We heard from Paul Butler about his work in St. Lucia and how the endangered St. Lucia parrot came to be protected. The facts were known. The bird was disappearing, but presenting the scientific data did not generate any interest in the island’s populace. It wasn’t until the island’s president was convinced to declare the parrot the National Bird of of St. Lucia that folks began to take notice of this rare bird. As time passed, the people became very proud of their national bird and pushed to have its habitat protected, and then this species began to recover.
Today we went ashore at Puerto Escondido and boarded vans for Ligui, a small coastal community on the Baja Peninsula. Here we witnessed another environmental success story based on community pride. Although Loreto Bay National Park was established as a marine park in 1996 and in 2005 UNESCO recognized the gulf and its islands as a World Heritage Site, it wasn’t until 2008 that RARE partnered with the park to engage fishermen and their families to develop a sustainable fishing plan. This was a major step in actually protecting the very resources that the marine park was set up to do. It also brought in local support through increasing pride by their significant participation in creating a management plan.
Locals now understand the uniqueness and vulnerability of this area and are more likely to respect the fishing legislation. The campaign has empowered women through support of projects such as a sustainable aquarium fish business in Ligui. In March 2012, Loretanos established a Federation of Fishing Cooperatives. Local restaurants and fish markets increased selling chocolate clams sustainably harvested, and fishers are beginning to make more income and pay for a local enforcer from their profits.
Our symposium participants were treated to a panel discussion by some of the key local players in this campaign for protecting fisheries and to witness the signing of the Alliance for Sustainable Fishing by the Federation of Loreto Cooperatives. Lunch followed with samples of sustainable delicacies from the sea.
Then a puppet show was performed for the entertainment and education of the local children emphasizing sustainable fishing. The show concluded with the guest appearance of the Chocolate Clam, the mascot of the campaign. Everyone including the adults wanted their picture taken with the clam.
This was followed by a relay race made of teams of locals and the RARE symposium members. Competition was keen but the antics of the racers resulted in much laughter from participants and the crowd.
We eventually had to say gracias and adios and return to our ship. In the late afternoon, after a very busy day, our little ship repositioned on the west side of Isla Danzante, where some took short hikes in the desert, others went for a swim in the emerald-colored waters, and all eventually gathered on the beach for luscious dinner under a canopy of stars.
