Pristine beaches, teeming marine life, untouched wetlands. Most of the coastline around Mexico’s Gulf of California is unspoiled, which explains why the fight over tourism development there is so fierce. Developers with ambitions to build vast new resorts to rival Cancún have outlined plans for hotels, golf courses and marinas bordering protected areas. But conservation groups argue these projects would harm the region’s delicate mangrove and coral reef ecosystems and the rich biodiversity they support. They have fought the resort plans in the courts and in the media. Now environmentalists have turned their sights on the Mexican government’s role in such development. They allege the approval of giant resorts near fragile ecosystems constitutes a failure to enforce the country’s environmental laws. In a citizens’ submission... [Log in to read more]