El Manglito

Community restoration

El Manglito is a community in La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico, which, through collective decisions, was able to develop economic activities based on the restoration of its social and environmental surroundings.

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An encouraging case

"To restore the Cove, we must begin by restoring ourselves."

José Antonio Méndez

VISION. In 2011 the fishermen of El Manglito, in collaboration with NOS Noroeste Sustentable AC (NOS) imagined the future they wanted to create in the Ensenada: abundant fishery resources to sustain fishing and reactivate their economy, respect for the law, better organization and collaboration with the authorities to generate effective management strategies.

COLLECTIVE ACTION. They reached a collective agreement to restore the Ensenada de La Paz, starting with the callo de hacha and the Catarina clam, for which resources were evaluated, the beaches and seabed were cleaned, and participatory surveillance operations were implemented.

SOCIAL AND RESOURCE RESTORATION. The population of callo de hacha began to recover, which motivated the community to organize: 109 community members, 15 cooperatives and 10 free fishermen, joined together to form the SPR Organización de Pescadores Rescatando la Ensenada (OPRE), and obtained as of July 2017 a fishing concession for 11 bivalve resources, in 2048 hectares of the Ensenada de La Paz.

They also carried out various activities that fostered community development and the strengthening of the social fabric, such as aquaculture, tourism, education, social entrepreneurship, and sharing learning with other communities.

ECONOMIC RECOVERY. Fishing for scallops was reinitiated through sustainable practices (extraction respecting size and with catch quotas per school).

PRODUCTIVE DIVERSIFICATION. Because fishing was insufficient to meet the needs of the community, various productive options were explored. They ventured into oyster aquaculture, nature tourism and mussel fishing.

PROFITABILITY AND ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY. Empowerment and profitable social entrepreneurship. The development of activities is carried out under profitability criteria, that is, optimizing the productive processes to generate a positive balance between production costs and income generated, achieving stability and economic sustainability.

Stories about El Manglito

OPRE adopta seis kilómetros de playa El Mogote y refuerza la limpieza de la Ensenada de la Paz

January 21, 2026

La organización pesquera se suma al programa Adopta una Playa, de Semarnat, formalizando un trabajo comunitario que impulsa la restauración ambiental, el turismo responsable y la recuperación de pesquerías

OPRE fortalece herramientas del diálogo con taller de NOS Noroeste Sustentable

December 15, 2025

Integrantes de esta organización y mujeres que participan en el programa de vigilancia recibieron un taller impartido por NOS Noroeste Sustentable para mejorar la comunicación, la escucha y la resolución de conflictos en la comunidad.

NOS Noroeste Sustentable comparte en México por el Clima su experiencia de colaboración y restauración en La Ensenada de La Paz

October 10, 2025

En el panel “Para sanar ecosistemas naturales necesitamos ecosistemas humanos”, Alejandro Robles destacó el trabajo con niños, jóvenes, mujeres y pescadores de El Manglito para regenerar el ecosistema costero y promover una prosperidad compartida

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