Purpose

The Loreto Bay Foundation (LBF) was established to support and fund local projects in the community of Loreto, Baja California Sur and in the Loreto Bay National Marine Park. The project must be "organized and operated for charitable purposes" (i.e. not a for-profit venture). Project staff are allowed to earn a fair salary for their work on the project, but investors are not allowed to make a profit from the project. The principal benefactors of LBF are the Loreto Bay Company and the residents of Loreto Bay.

The Villages of Loreto Bay was marketed as a sustainable development, possibly Mexico’s first truly environmentally-sound real estate development project.   In spite of the Loreto Bay’s many positive attributes, poor due diligence by the builder regarding per square foot building costs was aggravated by the slump in the U.S. real estate market and resulted in its takeover by its principal creditor, Citicorp Property Investors.  Sales of properties, and thus shared revenue to the Loreto Bay Foundation has slowed to a trickle.  As a result, we at the Loreto Bay Foundation have had no activity in 2009.  Thus, our most recent report of activity is our 2007-8 annual report.  We operated with remarkable success from 2004 until 2008.  We have put the Loreto Bay Foundation in an inoperative, holding pattern since then.  It is ready to be reactivated when revenues again begin to flow.

News

For a five year overview of the Foundation, please click here.

The Loreto Bay Foundation helps create Sustainable Coastal Development Standards!

During 2007 and 2008, we continued development of Coastal Sustainable Development Standards (CSDS) as a priority recognized by The Ocean Foundation’s board of directors, the Board of Advisors to the Loreto Bay Foundation, and by staff. The Sustainable Coastal Development Standards incorporate local, existing, sustainable practices that protect natural resources and those who depend on them.  Specifically, sustainable design:

·       Returns to a design for climate, culture and place

·       Embraces appropriate technologies

·       Reduces or eliminates negative environmental impact

·       Integrates design solutions between all the design and engineering disciplines

·       Saves energy and water

·       Reduces operating costs

·       Promotes health

·       Maximizes local resources before importing materials or talent

From this we produced a developers guide.  In 2009, 500 copies were printed and delivered to the B.C.S. Dirección de Planeación Urbana y Ecología (Division of Urban Planning and Ecology)  

LBFF and Sherwood Design Engineers will present jointly at the 5th International Coastal & Marine Tourism Congress (CMT'07) on the creation of a comprehensive set of Sustainable Coastal Development Standards. This event will take place in New Zealand of September 2007.

The Loreto Bay Foundation (LBF) of Baja California Sur (BCS), Mexico, originally commissioned the creation of a comprehensive set of Sustainable Coastal Development Standards to be applied at a State level. The primary goal is to create clear regulations for responsible coastal development in a region experiencing rapid tourism development. LBF commissioned Sherwood Design Engineers to perform research, field reconnaissance, interviews, and ultimately the creation and implementation of these Standards. In addition to pursuing the general culture of sustainability, the project objectives are as follows:

• Protect and integrate built forms with the local environment;
• Maintain essence of the region with respect to scale and cultural heritage; 
• Protect the valuable marina areas, such as the Loreto Bay National Marine Park;
• Educate the community on the practice of sustainable development; 
• Generate political support leading to adoption of Standards as a governing document;
• Allow for measured economic growth.
  

Research was performed by accessing best practices applied throughout the international community while performing reconnaissance to understand existing practices in BCS. To facilitate the implementation of these Standards, an interpretive document was developed informing users and decision makers of the writing process for Standards and the strategy of integrating these Standards into the BCS development review process. The result is a set of documents identifying appropriate methods, justification, and requirements in executing sustainable development in a coastal setting while comparing these methods to existing law. The project team is currently continuing their efforts by creating a guide for developers based on the Standards for the State government to distribute to potential applicants.

Project Highlights in Loreto
Getting ready for the new school year is always a challenge. Fortunately, the Loreto Bay Foundation was able to provide some assistance to the schools of Loreto and the children who attend them.

Remember walking into school the first day, carrying your brand new school bag holding your brand new notebook and newly sharpened pencils, and holding the promise of a fresh start and new opportunity as well? Recently a group of 15 dedicated volunteers gathered to pack school bags with donated school supplies for the school children of Loreto. Thanks to the suppliers and to these volunteers, children from the most marginalized elementary school in our community, Colonia Miramar, received for grades 1-6 an age-appropriate collection of new notebooks, pencils, rulers, crayons, scissors, plasticine, geometry set, dictionaries and other tools to begin their new school year. Nearly three-quarters of the supplies were made in Mexico and 90 percent of the packaging material will be recycled. This same school,"Esc. Prim Mercedes Davis Perpuli" received help for making a shade structure so that kids can resist de heat during recess and a window in a classroom that never had one before.

On another morning, the Loreto Bay Foundation received an emergency request for help to purchase a school bus for the "Internado Colonia Zaragoza" , whose student body is made up of largely of rural students with no way to get to any school. Here's what we heard from them:

• "Hope to see you at the school in the near future, and we can all take a ride in our lovely new bus."
• "In fact if you ever have any spare time, which probably is sounding pretty funny to you, a ride on the bus with the children is quite an experience."
• "It is quite telling when you see where our kids live. It is very easy to forget that dirt floors, no running water and meals cooked over an outside fire still is part of the Loreto way of life. Thanks to your help we are certain our children will be smarter."

There are other needs to be met, of course. We are working on
prioritizing those.