Coastal communities in Baja California Sur (BCS) are escalating their opposition to the “Península de los Sueños” (Peninsula of Dreams) megaproject, demanding that environmental authorities revoke permits that—they warn—threaten key marine ecosystems and local economic activities.
Fisherfolk, residents, scientists, and tourism service providers in Baja California Sur have launched a petition on Change.org demanding the revocation of the environmental authorization granted by the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) for the “Península de los Sueños” megaproject, which was recently relaunched under the name “Los Saguaros Marina Resort.”
The petition, spearheaded by the collective Salvando La Ventana (Saving La Ventana), argues that the project would jeopardize one of the most important marine ecosystems in the Gulf of California and impact the economic activities of communities such as Agua Amarga, El Sargento, and La Ventana.
Authorized in 2016, the project entails the construction of over 7,000 housing units, nearly 8,000 hotel rooms, a marina with 446 boat slips, golf courses, an airstrip, and desalination plants at the iconic Punta Arena beach, covering an area of 3,519 hectares.
“This would radically transform more than 13 kilometers of coastline into a massive tourist city within an extremely fragile ecosystem,” the petition states.
The citizen mobilization arose after the developers began relaunching the project via an initial phase known as “Los Saguaros Marina Resort,” following several years of no visible progress.
Among the primary concerns raised by opponents are the potential impacts the marina and desalination plants could have on the Isla Cerralvo Channel—a critically important marine biological corridor located off the coast of Punta Arena. According to monitoring conducted by the organization Orgcas, species such as blue whales, humpback whales, sperm whales, dolphins, and orcas inhabit or pass through the area; the orcas, in particular, use the site to raise their young and teach them how to hunt.
Constructing the marina would entail dredging and altering ocean currents, while desalination plants would extract 14.5 million gallons of seawater daily and generate nearly 8 million gallons of concentrated brine, which would be discharged back into the Gulf of California.
Campaign organizers also warn that the development could jeopardize traditional access to the sea and the economic model—based on fishing and nature-based tourism—upon which communities such as Agua Amarga, La Ventana, El Sargento, Los Planes, Boca del Álamo, and El Cardonal depend.
In addition to seeking the revocation of the environmental permit granted a decade ago by Semarnat, the petition calls on the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (Profepa) to conduct inspections regarding access restrictions at Punta Arena and proposes that the Punta Arena–Isla Cerralvo corridor be recognized as a priority marine conservation area.
Source: diarioelindependiente
