Green/Eco: Pulse: The Ultimate Eco-Lodge Under Threat

The Ultimate Eco-Lodge Under Threat

More than a decade ago, the late billionaire Sir James Goldsmith and his family, under the auspices of the Cuixmala Ecological Foundation, worked with the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) to establish the Chamela-Cuixmala Biosphere Reserve, a nature zone that covers more than 250 square miles. The land includes dry tropical forest, orchards, alluvial plains, rivers and beaches and is home to incredible biodiversity. Among the 72 species of mammals it harbors are endangered jaguar, leopard and ocelot as well as endangered turtles, crocodiles and iguana. In fact, over the past two decades, conservation efforts have achieved great success in raising the existing number of nesting turtles, from only twenty in 1986 to many thousands in 2007. Given these results and the rarity of its dry forest eco-system, it’s not surprising that the World Wildlife Fund considers the reserve one of the 200 most important eco-regions in the world. Despite the efforts of the Goldsmith family and environmentalists to safeguard this extraordinary ecological preserve, new development projects threaten its pristine environment.

To read a story on the ecological controversy, click here.

To read about Cuixmala, the Goldsmith family estate where it is possible to rent houses, click here.