Cabo Pulmo and the Opportunity to Thrive
25 Years of Restoring and Stewarding Nature
In the September 2020 issue of National Geographic, Dr. Enric Sala penned a short piece entitled, "The Costs of Harming Nature," with the accompanying byline, "The pandemic proves it: by damaging the planet we have sapped nature's power to protect us from disease." While reading I could not help but think of the flip side of his message. What happens when we restore nature? What can we learn from the few places on the planet that are reversing the familiar destruction-vulnerability narrative?
For over two decades, almost as long as Cabo Pulmo National Park has existed, I have had the privilege of visiting and working with the community of Cabo Pulmo in Southern Baja California, Mexico, first with international conservation organizations like the World Wildlife Fund, then as a concerned citizen, and now with LegacyWorks Group. In the words of famed marine biologist Sylvia Earle, Cabo Pulmo has become a "hope spot." Twenty-five years ago Cabo Pulmo was an isolated ranching and fishing community that had depleted its resources with few opportunities for locals to make a living. The disease of overexploitation had run rampant and left a dying reef in its wake. Today, after strict protection, community engagement, economic transformation and multi-party collaboration Cabo Pulmo has become a vital, restored reef community where humans and nature thrive together. Preserving and enhancing Cabo Pulmo's legacy is one of our primary objectives at LegacyWorks Group.
The best part of the Cabo Pulmo story may be its power of inspiration and its potential for replication. The fate of the Sea of Cortez can only be reversed if we enable similar stories to emerge and succeed. Cabo Pulmo hosts thousands of tourists each year, all hoping to catch a glimpse of its visual trophies - colorful coral heads, sharks, giant schools of jacks, groupers and rays, sea lions and whales. Protected natural areas are economic drivers. Visitors leave inspired by the potential for communities to drive real change and restore their own resources.
Even more importantly, fishing communities from near and far are taking note. With the help of LegacyWorks Group and partners like Amigos de Cabo Pulmo, Niparaja, and Pronatura Noroeste, communities across the East Cape and beyond are beginning to adapt the Cabo Pulmo model to protect and restore their own unique resources and cultures. Slowly a "string of pearls" is being strung - small protected areas along the coast of Southern Baja from Cabo Pulmo National Park to Espiritu Santo Island and Loreto National Parks. Their purpose is to help repopulate healthy fish and reef populations so that life can rebound and provide a sustainable basis for enduring human communities.
Last November with the help of Lindblad Expeditions and many generous donors and partners, LegacyWorks Group hosted a special floating Impact Expedition. Aboard was Luis Lucero Meza, son of a fishing family and now a regional leader from the village of Boca del Alamo. Luis shared his vision for “El Nido,” a “marine nest” where his community could adapt and advance the Cabo Pulmo model in their own waters. Now, together, we are actively moving el Nido forward, with LegacyWorks Group helping Luis convene partners and raise resources while providing facilitation and project management support. Our goal and role is to enable Luis and the community he leads to make this dream a reality.
While these beautiful stories unfold, in part thanks to Cabo Pulmo’s success, the area is becoming so coveted that large tourism developments are being proposed and built to get a piece of the action. LegacyWorks Group has worked with the East Cape community for more than five years to fend off destructive developments. Even more importantly we are working together to advance positive alternatives like El Nido that protect and restore the region’s rich history and natural resources and diversify local economies and create jobs.
There is so much to do. But it all starts with love of place, trust in people, purpose, patience, perseverance and partnership - in effect, the power of people working together. That is what I have done my entire conservation career. That is why I gravitated to helping Cabo Pulmo and doing what I can to consolidate its gains and spread its gospel. That is why I love working at LegacyWorks Group.
To learn more about these remarkable stories please reach out to me at martin@legacyworksgroup.com. I’d love to tell you more. The Cabo Pulmo story is well depicted in the short film below, A Reef Reborn, from SUMMERHAYS FILMS, Inc.
To dive more deeply into the opportunity to replicate Cabo Pulmo's experience and the threats the region faces, view a recent webinar series hosted by our partner Baja Coastal Institute.
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