Gulf of California

Espiritu Santo Island
© WWF-Canon / Gustavo YBARRA

In the Gulf of California, WWF has worked with local and international partners to achieve conservation on and around two pristine islands--Espiritu Santo and San Pedro Martir--thriving with relevant inland species and surrounded by a rich diversity of marine life.

At the beginning of 2003, the original owners of Espiritu Santo Island handed over 28,000 acres of the desert island to the Mexican government for exclusive conservation purposes. WWF in cooperation with Fundacion Mexicana para la Educacion Ambiental A.C., pulled together the funding to compensate the original owners and to guarantee the long term conservation of the Espiritu Santo complex.

In June 2003, San Pedro Martir Island was declared a Biosphere Reserve by the Mexican Government. The decree covers a total surface of over 115 square miles of marine and terrestrial portions that are now protected under federal government jurisdiction. Due to its isolation and the absence of major predators, the area is an ideal location for blue-footed and brown boobies, and the third largest colony of Sea Lions in the Gulf of California. The marine area harbors rich marine life forms, 68 species of fish and nine species of mammals such as the bottlenose dolphin, bryde whale, fin whale, pilot whale, and sperm whale among others.