A warm welcome to 2024 from all of us at Eco-Alianza. As the new year stretches out before us, we make a resolution to continue to do our best for Loreto, and more. We also take a moment to look back on the past year with heart-felt gratitude for all that our Donors have made possible. 2023 was filled with important activities: The launch of Loreto 2050, an expansion of our Environmental Education programs into neighboring pueblos and towns, enhanced water quality testing to monitor our local beaches, continued assistance with the Parque National de Loreto, and our out-reach into the community to assess needs and future-focus our energies. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank again, all those who have contributed both time, energy and funding to further our mission.

The LORETO 2050 Program was born of the desire to ensure a healthy sustainable future for the City of Loreto and its citizens. Designed to engage and seek input from every aspect of our community, the program takes a forward-looking approach. What do we collectively want to see as a future for Loreto? How can we best plan support systems for sufficient clean water resources? How do we manage our infrastructure for transportation, waste management, zoning concerns, and an expanding tourism economy? Can we bring together all the voices of Loreto and make sure that everyone is heard?

Built upon the foundations of an original study from 2005, LORETO 2050 held its first stakeholder meeting this past October. The event drew a large, diverse and representative audience. The suggestions, opinions, and participation were superior and interesting. Several of the community’s ongoing needs were addressed and important insights obtained, creating the possibility of reaching consensus of the priority of needs.

One specific question guided the exchanges: “How do you prioritize the quality-of-life characteristics that you enjoy and value in Loreto?
Ten top priorities were defined:

  1. Safety – a safe place to live
  2. Access to water
  3. Healthy City Environment
  4. Good state of terrestrial and marine Environments
  5. Access to recreational and natural areas
  6. Education
  7. Access to decent housing
  8. Mobility
  9. Local small-town scale
  10. Participation in decision making
During the coming year, workshops will be held with each meeting focused on one of the six areas of concern:

  1. Environment
    • Management of new natural protected areas
    • Tourism development in natural protected areas
    • Wetland management
  2. Housing and City
    • Densification
    • Gentrification
  3.  Tourism
    • Controlled tourism development
    • Regulation of economic growth
  4.  Water
    • Sustainable management of water resources
    • Fresh and sea water quality control
  5.  Infrastructure
    • Sustainable mobility
    • Solid waste management
    • Sustainable Energy
  6. Public Space
    • Network of public spaces
    • New recreational public spaces
Mark your calendars and plan on attending if possible.  Your comments and input can also be mailed to: nidia.ramirez@ecoalianzaloreto.net
Our talented team of educators continues to engage the hearts and minds of our younger citizens, from exploring the ramification of waste disposal on marine mammals and clean beaches, to identifying species and their particular habitats, to creating Citizen Scientists.
Highlights of our 2024 Environmental Education program include:

  • Technology and IA workshops, piloted in previous years, will resume with new platforms and educational projects.
  • Audiovisual production, poetry, and painting to catalyze the potential of our students in arts subjects as means of understanding and exploring our environment.
  • Continued participation in the Collaborative Research on marine debris with the RECIBA network organized by the Catholic University of the North of Chile and 20 internationally renowned educational organizations.
  • Participate for the second consecutive year in the kid wind challenge, encouraging young people to build their models of renewable energy-generating devices and competing at a regional level.

It seems that we can never really say “Thank-you” often enough. Without your help and contributions, none of what we do would be possible. Please, share this newsletter with friends and family, and consider a donation. Every ‘peso’ furthers our work for a sustainable, clean and healthy Loreto.