Docking down Baja: controversial marina plan designed for U.S. yachts gets what some call coerced environmental approval.

In the wake of vociferous public objections and after what looked like some subtle stalling, the Environment Secretariat (Semarnat) in early November approved the environmental impact statement of the master plan for the Nautical Steps tourism megaproject in the Sea of Cortez.

The move paves the way for the consolidation of 27 "nautical inns" or marinas (nine of which will be new) in the Sea of Cortez, designed to lure yacht owners down from the U.S. West Coast to the Baja California peninsula and its surroundings. The megaproject, which is the brainchild of the National Trust Fund for Tourism Development (Fonatur), is the fund's biggest scheme after Cancun and the biggest tourism development project of the Fox administration.

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The secretariat's resolution authorizes nautical activity of up to 6,000 yachts and sailboats in an area so biologically diverse it was once described by oceanographer and ecologist Jacques Cousteau as "the aquarium of the world."

With such biodiversity in the balance, the project--from its inception--has been met with harsh criticism from environmental groups, academics and politicians. A maelstrom of interests from five neighboring state governments and relevant municipal authorities has been difficult to resolve. NGOs, scientists and academics have added pressure to the controversial plan, which has caused rifts within the federal government, specifically from outspoken members of the Environment and Agriculture secretariats.

Some observers point to the change as a result of the shift atop the Environment Secretariat. In September, Fox replaced Victor Lichtinger with more business-friendly Alberto Cardenas in a move widely interpreted to favor investment over the environment.

WHAT'S AT STAKE

While this project has been equated to Cancun by Fonatur, the Sea of Cortez is an entirely different scenario. The state of Quintana Roo--where Cancun is located--didn't even exist until 1974, when it was created for the megaresort and was very sparsely populated. The area affected by the Nautical Steps project, on the other hand, represents 21% of national territory, with a population of 8.6 million inhabitants (9% of the country's total) that accounts for 9% of Mexico's GDP.

The high stakes led to a standoff between Fonatur and Semarnat. While Semarnat was working to produce an ecological ordinance for the Sea of Cortez region, Fonatur in April presented its Environmental Impact Statement for the project's master plan, forcing Semarnat to move up its timetable and either endorse or reject the project.

Pablo Uribe of Mexico's Center for Environmental Law said Fonatur presented its statement for the project too soon, putting Semarnat in an awkward political position regarding the evaluation of a national project that had presidential approval.

Luis Bojorquez, a policy director with Semarnat, said discussions on the controversial project between his secretariat and Fonatur had been intense, "It's been like a Latin marriage, full of passions."

Semarnat's green light for the Fonatur master plan came with 18 conditions, chief among them that an environmental impact statement must be submitted for each of the individual marinas due to be constructed as part of the project. (For a complete list of the conditions, go to Web site www.semarnat.gob.mx and click on the Boletines icon. See the Nov. 6 press release.)

According to Juarez, the 18 conditions were designed to prevent or compensate for the development's negative environmental impact, namely the alteration in behavior patterns or populations of sealife caused by the heavy transit of vessels and increased fishing.

The development is expected to begin in 2004 with an initial investment of US$140 million.

But, interviewed by phone in mid-November by BUSINESS MEXICO, Julio Olguin, an environment coordinator for the Nautical Steps, was not celebrating the project's victory yet. He said the resolution means that Fonatur cannot start building the infrastructure for any of the steps of the project until all 18 Semarnat conditions are met.

For more information about Nautical Steps, see www.escaleranautica.com.

Barbara Kastelein covers Mexico for Fodor's Travel Publications, Conde Nast Traveller (UK) and the Sunday Express newspaper of London.