July 2012    Download the Entire Issue (PDF)

Vol. 27, No. 7   What's this?

Environmental News about Baja California, Australia and DEMA

from the July, 2012 issue of Undercurrent  

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Kudos to Mexico's outgoing president Felipe Calderon. Last month, he cancelled permits for an enormous, Cancun-sized resort planned for the Baja California shoreline near the Cabo Pulmo preserve. Marine life has exploded there, following a decision two decades ago by residents to stop commercial fishing and develop ecotourism activities instead. But in 2008, federal authorities granted permits for a Spanish developer to build about 30,000 hotel rooms, golf courses and a marina on a strip of seaside desert about 90 minutes northeast of the Los Cabos resorts. Calderon said the permits were being withdrawn because the developer hadn't proved the 9,400-acre resort wouldn't harm the environment. "Because of its size, we have to be absolutely certain that it wouldn't cause irreversible damage, and that absolute certainty simply hasn't been proved." But the fight isn't over. The developers said that they would rethink the project and re-submit another proposal....