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Conservationists Buy Pez Maya  Property on Yucatan Peninsula

Land is gateway to important nature reserve; acquisition seen as first step to slow development along critical coastal area

CANCUN, MEXICO — January 22, 2002 — Mexican and U.S. conservationists have acquired a critical coastal area south of Cancun called Pez Maya that will help them in their battle to protect millions of acres within Mexico’s Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve from increasing development pressure.

Officials from the Cancun-based Amigos de Sian Ka’an and The Nature Conservancy said they would work together to raise $2.7 million (USD) to pay for the acquisition and protection of  the 64-acre Pez Maya.

“This property, which includes two miles of Caribbean coast line, is one of the most important and threatened natural areas along the Caribbean coast of Mexico,” said Marco Lazcano, director of Amigos.  “It is breeding ground for least terns, osprey, American crocodile, manatee, and loggerhead and green sea turtles.  Nourished by mangrove swamps, the coastal waters of Pez Maya harbors one of the world’s most pristine coral formations and are renowned for their abundance of sport fish such as tarpon, bonefish, snook and permit.” 

While the Pez Maya purchase if fairly small in size at 64 acres, Brian Houseal of The Nature Conservancy, said its location as the gateway to the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula is critical.  The property is approximately 90 miles south of Cancun.

“Sian Ka’an is Mexico’s largest protected coastal wetland, providing refuge for thousands of species of plants and animals,” Houseal said.  “Unfortunately, this area is facing unprecedented development pressure.  This purchase will allow us to establish a barrier between the bioreserve and hotel development that is encroaching south from Cancun at a rapid pace.”

Over the next five years, the 80-mile swath of development that extends from Cancun to the Mayan ruins at Tulum is projected to quadruple its capacity, increasing the number of hotel rooms to 80,000.  Pez Maya lies a mere 15 miles south and several developers have tried to acquire the property.  With zoning designations as small as 50 meters, Pez Maya’s shoreline had been threatened to be subdivided into as many as 60 parcels.

The purchase of Pez Maya was from Banco Mexicano de Comercio Exterior.  Once the $2.7 million is raised for the property,  Amigos will hold title to the land and the Conservancy will place a permanent conservation easement on the property to protect it from further development.

“We see this is an important, first step in protecting this coastal area,” Lazcano said.  “Much of the coastal area in the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve is privately owned, so we will need to work closely and creatively with other property owners to ensure that if development does occur, it is low density and it does not adversely impact this fragile natural area.”

Amigos officials said that in addition to protecting the protecting dunes, coastal shrub and mangroves at Pez Maya, they plan to use the property for environmental training and research.

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Amigos de Sian Ka’an was founded in 1986 in an effort to reduce human impact and preserve the remaining beautiful and rich natural landscapes of the Mexican state of Quintana Roo.  The creation of Amigos established a new precedence in Mexico, as this was the first time a truly private association, composed of conservationists, coastal landowners, concerned developers and natural resource researchers, joined together to support the conservation of a protected area administered by the federal government, the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve.  The Reserve is located on the eastern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula and borders the Caribbean Sea.  It was designated as Mexico’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.  At 1.6 million acres, it is one of the country’s largest coastal wetland reserves. Amigos has played an instrumental role in working with the government to make the Reserve viable and provide the appropriate guidelines for limited sustainable development.  This will preserve the Reserve’s integrity and the natural resources of the entire region.