Evolution of a coastal Oasis in a high population growth rate municipality: Los Cabos, Mexico

Arizpe, O.; Juarez, Judith; Cruz, Placido; Torres, Alberto

doi:10.2495/sdp-v13-n4-605-613

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…As a resume of the geomorphological changes of the wetland in the last 15 years. Integral determinations of fragility, pressure, and final evaluation of vulnerability [20], allow to know the current state of the system, becoming an important tool for the decision makers for the generation of program management with an important restoration component. Finally considering the loss of original geomorphology, as a highly relevant ecosystem, it is important the get the involvement of authorities to implement an urgent study and Restauration Plan of the wetland of REEESJC, to prevent irremediable damages not just for the environment, also the tourism and the local population, with the increment for example of floods, fires, pollution, of this relevant ecosystem not just for Baja California Peninsula.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prospective and Sustainability of Two Natural Protected Areas in the Least Crowded State of Mexico: Baja California South

Arizpe

Juárez

Cruz

et al. 2018

WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment

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Mexico is one of the countries with the highest levels of biodiversity in the world. Baja California South (BCS) is the Mexican state with the highest proportion of Natural Protected Areas (NPA) in its territory, the longest coastal line, and although has the lowest population density, has a highest annual population growth rate with a huge pressure from tourist development. NPA constitute fundamental instruments in the enforcement of environmental policies, essential to preserve biodiversity and are also an important engine for sustainable development. In this context the evolution of two coastal systems with almost the same age in BCS as a NPA, was analysed. The Pulmo Cape Coral Reef Area has been a rich source for many types of fishing-related activities for more than a century. Within the first three years of the study, a significant decline in the coverage of the coral reef and in the density of the fish and invertebrates was noticed, caused by the activities of the tourism and local population of the area. The NPA was officially declared in 1995, and, up to now, the sustainable development objectives were reached, improving the quality of life of the local people and the environmental health of the reef ecosystem. The San Jose Estuary coastal wetland, located less than 100km south to Pulmo Cape, was used for centuries by the local population and tourism. Their protection as an NPA was established in 1994. Results to date show a high environmental deterioration with increasing vulnerability in the last decade. The polygon of the NPA has changed 4 times in 20 years, their secular geomorphology has been reduced by more than 40% by the unplanned tourism development, initiating a big environmental deterioration that threatens the sustainable development of the contiguous population of San José del Cabo. The evaluation presents the description of these NPA, and elaborates on their importance, their major perceived challenges, and finally with an evaluation, are suggested the most favourable panoramas for the sustainable development.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prospective and Sustainability of Two Natural Protected Areas in the Least Crowded State of Mexico: Baja California South

Arizpe

Juárez

Cruz

et al. 2018

WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment

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“…1). The ESJC distinguish for its environmental and socio-economic importance, and this ecosystem has great relevance to the region, both for the water and biological perspective [7]. The region has the highest population grow rate of the country and also has become one of the fastest growing tourist destinations in Mexico, and it relies on high level infrastructure to attend the visitors, which created negative effects such as land changes, sewage discharges and invasive species threaten the stability of the estuary [7], [8].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vulnerability Assessment for Resource Management of a Natural Protected Area

Verdugo

Arizpe

González-Baheza

2018

WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment

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The present study analyzes the vulnerability assessment as a tool and reference for a sustainable managing of the Natural Protected Area (NPA) San Jose del Cabo Estuary Mexico (ESJC). ESJC is a coastal oasis of fresh water located close to the Gulf of California mouth, and it is an important refuge for migratory birds and endemic species that inhabit the estuary. ESJC has been threatened by the rapid urbanization and tourist development in Los Cabos, which created negative effects such as land changes, sewage discharges and invasive species, affecting largely the quality of the estuary. In this context the main purpose of the study was to evaluate the vulnerability of every micro region of ESJC in order to propose management strategies of the NPA. We made a characterization and regionalization of ESJC. We propose an index (VI) based on indicators to represent the vulnerability, as well as the natural and socio-ecological pressures affecting the refuge. The VI was shaped adding fragility index (FI) and pressure index (PI). The FI and PI were created from the indicators that were normalized to dimensionless quantities ranging from 0 to 1. In result, the indexes infer a high vulnerability of the lagoon and the upstream area with natural vegetation: The FI shows the frailty due to runoffs, sediments, natural vegetation, endemic species and exposed population; the PI represents high values of pressure from tourism development, demography, runoff from floods, and the agricultural and urban activities. The integrated vulnerability evaluation from biophysical and socioeconomic aspects for a protected area allows an establishment of a management proposal strategy for sustainability of the ESJC.

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“…In Baja California Peninsula, coastal alterations and tourism are the primary threats to seagrass meadows (Figure 2A). In Los Cabos, tourism infrastructure has led to significant ecological strain, with the San Joséestuary's geomorphology reduced by over 40% in 20 years, affecting its ecosystem services (Arizpe et al, 2018;Wurl, 2019). While, tourism development, combined with natural events like hurricanes and climate phenomena, has been detrimental, particularly to H. wrightii in La Paz Bay's Balandra MPA (Peŕez-Estrada et al, 2021).…”

Section: Summary Of Human and Climate Stressorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Updating and validating seagrass ecosystem knowledge in the gulf of California: a comprehensive review

Ramírez-Zúñiga,

Pérez-Estrada,

López-Calderón

et al. 2024

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Seagrasses are globally acknowledged as crucial habitats as they provide a variety of ecosystem services. Mexico’s legislation protects most of these marine plants; however, the protection often fails in application. The Gulf of California, despite being a biodiversity hotspot, has scant data on seagrasses. Here, human activity and climate change increasingly threaten these coastal ecosystems, with conservation and research efforts lacking coordination at a regional level. Our manuscript aimed to review and standardize existing data on Gulf of California seagrass species, ensuring open access for data updates; pinpointing conservation deficiencies; and guiding future research. We have added new records to the official public data, but we were able to recapture only 25% of the seagrass locations meaning a potential reduction in their historical distribution of 45.8%. Even though Mexico’s legislation protects some species of seagrasses, it protection often fails in the application. We identified that only 6.1% of the seagrass locations are within protected areas that recognize their presence in their management plans (e.g., the Balandra Flora and Fauna Protected Area and the Upper Gulf of California and Colorado River Delta Biosphere Reserve). At least 55.9% of seagrass records are associated with potentially damaging activities like pollution, coastal modification or biological resources use, while 23% are exposed to higher frequency of marine heatwaves. Given the importance of seagrass meadows under Mexican law and their internationally recognized ecological value, sharing current information and guiding research is essential. Our study seeks to galvanize renewed research initiatives and raise more awareness on the conservation of the Gulf of California’s seagrasses.

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Evolution of a coastal Oasis in a high population growth rate municipality: Los Cabos, Mexico

Cited by 6 publications

References 4 publications

Prospective and Sustainability of Two Natural Protected Areas in the Least Crowded State of Mexico: Baja California South

Prospective and Sustainability of Two Natural Protected Areas in the Least Crowded State of Mexico: Baja California South

Vulnerability Assessment for Resource Management of a Natural Protected Area

Updating and validating seagrass ecosystem knowledge in the gulf of California: a comprehensive review

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