Magnolias, Jaguars and an Internet Provider

 

Magnolia Vallartensis is a critically endangered plant that is thought to exist only in some 100 square kilometres in the Pacific coastal lowlands of Puerto Vallarta and the municipality of Cabo Corrientes of western Jalisco, Mexico. This area, as well as the municipality of Talpa de Allende further inland, is also the habitat of the Pinus Vallartensis, a species thought to number no more than 2,500 individuals.

The flower of Magnolia Vallartensis. This specimen produced flowers in the Vallarta Botanical Garden after four years of careful cultivation.

 

 

 

Pinus Vallartensis.

 

 

I learned of these two plants from our son Chris has been visiting and we have learned more about his new job at Vallarta Botanical Gardens (Jardín Botánico de Vallarta) in the municipality of Cabo Corrientes on the Pacific coast of Mexico. The garden celebrated its 20^th anniversary this year, and in our conversations I have learned more about the garden and its social impacts.

The Horcones River runs through Vallarta Botanic Garden.

 

 

The garden cares for more than 120 hectares of native habitat, some 20 km south of Puerto Vallarta on the Bahía de Banderas, on hills that slope down to the Pacific Ocean. The bay, and the coast to the north in Nayarit state, is a boom area for tourism, principally from the USA and Canada. The construction of luxury condominiums and hotels is unrelenting. While tourism brings a large number of jobs (many, however, seasonal) the construction threatens the tropical habitats of the region. It also creates enormous demands for resources, notably water in the dry season to fill swimming pools and water golf courses. The most egregious of these developments is the vast and hideous Vidanta World, “Where Luxury Meets Fantasy.”

Vidanta World, a partial view from the theme park.

 

 

Conservation efforts of the garden include native trees, especially oaks and magnolias and 50 species of orchids indigenous to the Horcones river basin. There are also local species of chocolate and vanilla, as well as many tropical fruits. Wildlife is also plentiful: about 250 species of birds (both migratory and year-round species), including the Green Macaw (Ara militaris); ocelots and jaguars; river otters. The garden’s staff organize environmental education programmes in local schools and a large number of school children encounter their local ecology at the garden every year. And the large numbers of tourists who come to the garden experience the local flora and fauna.

Vegetation at the garden.

 

 

However, the garden’s impact goes beyond ecology and conservation. Several years ago, a neighbouring hotel (part of a wealthy and well-connected chain) decided to solve its water problem by diverting the Horcones river to solve its water needs. Apart from the obvious ecological damage to the garden which receives the waters of the river, the social damage to downstream communities would have been substantial. The community of Boca de Tomatlán, for instance, is located at the mouth of the Horcones as it enters the Bahía de Banderas. The people of the village live off tourism. There are restaurants, and water taxis take tourists to secluded beaches inaccessible by road. Diversion of the river would have damaged or destroyed their livelihood. Fortunately, the leadership of the garden led a successful campaign to prevent the diversion of the river.

A view of the garden from its restaurant.

  

 

Another problem solved by the garden to the benefit of local communities was internet access. When the garden asked the national company Telcel to provide internet access for its staff and visitors, the cost quoted was uneconomic. Nothing daunted, the management of the garden incorporated an internet provider to serve garden staff and visitors, and also to provide reasonably priced internet access to local villages (although some communities rely on Elon Musk’s Starlink service).

 

We visited the garden several years ago, long before Chris joined it staff. We now plan more to visit more frequently and to learn more about the local ecology. We recommend the garden to anybody who finds themselves in Puerto Vallarta.