CONSERVATION EASEMENTS

No country in Latin America has yet to enact national legislation authorizing the use of easements for conservation purposes, or allowing such easements to be held by independent third parties. However, NGO working with conservation-minded landowners have used the traditional form of appurtenant easement under the Civil Code for conservation purposes in a growing number of Latin American countries.

An easement is a voluntary agreement in which a landowner agrees to limit the use of property, and can be created for a term of years or for perpetuity, depending on the country. They can be used for conservation purpose by limiting the rights to use land in certain ways or the intensity of development, in order to conserve natural features of the land. Since easements are real property rights, they are inscribed in the registry of deeds, and are binding on future landowners, making them a useful tool for long-term conservation purposes.

There are two kinds of easements that can potentially be used for private lands conservation: traditional appurtenant easements that involve easements between two adjacent properties, and easements “in gross”, which can be held by a party other than the owner of the adjacent property such as a government organization or a non-profit conservation organization. The laws in Latin American countries are based on the European civil code and only recognize the traditional form of appurtenant easement created between two neighboring estates.

PRONATURA´s Conservation Office in Baja California is carrying out an initiative for the creation of a Marine Protected area, identified as Parque Nacional “Bahía de Los Ángeles”. During this process, the work with the community and their involvement has been central for its success.

With the purpose of supporting the mentioned initiative and taking into consideration that the main threats to the area’s marine ecosystems are the anthropogenic activities carried out in the coastal zones, PRONATURA Northwest Private Land Conservation Program (PNPLCP) with WILDCOAST support, began the Coastal Corridor La Asamblea-San Francisquito Conservation Project, with which it is try to guarantee the perpetual preservation of private and ejido critical lands through the application of legal instruments and the promotion of the area’s natural resources sustainable use.

According to the above mentioned PNPLCP began negotiations with different land owners in order to implement those recommendations and for the holders to voluntary establish conservation easements in their properties.

However, this could only be possible as long as a WIN-WIN scheme was applied in which the holders establish conservation easements in their lands and PRONATURA provides of technical and legal support and helps in the fund raising whether private or governmental for the implementation of low environmental impact productive activities in those lands.

After the first negotiation with 4 land owners (ejidatarios) was completed, the first five conservation easements were established in one of the priority areas identified within the analysis phase of the project, which at the same time, represents a great step for the conservation and sustainable development of La Asamblea-San Francisquito Coastal Corridor.

These conservation agreements are of great relevance not only because they guarantee the perpetual preservation of strategic areas but for they stop land speculation and the development of mega projects as well as being great examples of sustainable development activities which provide financial resources coming from environmental conservation.

By Lic. Fernando Ochoa