GEOSITES, TOURISM AND SCIENCE OUTREACH IN BAJA CALIFORNIA SUR, MEXICO

Baja California Sur (BCS), separated from mainland Mexico, is extraordinarily beautiful and interesting as a result of its recent geological history. The land's arid and coastal conditions create outstanding values to its rich natural heritage, history and culture. These represent irreplaceable evidence of geological evolution and of human history. BCS also possesses an extraordinary biodiversity distributed in a large variety of ecological systems from the open ocean through deserts to high mountains.

BCS attracts large numbers of tourists, including nearly a million Americans each year. The present project addresses the development of an Informal Science Education and Outreach program aimed for these visitors, as well for the local people. BCS has a large number of potential GeoSites, places of geological and paleontological heritage. A Natural History Museum in the tourist center of Cabo San Lucas displays these values. GeoSites and the museum infrastructure will be utilized for tourist outreach.

The program contributes to the conservation and protection of significant sites, and to the education of the tourists in a major way to promote environmental conservation and of the natural and historical-cultural heritage. A large part of the program is the involvement of the local people near the GeoSites in the protection and their responsible utilization. The program will thus protect sites, provide interaction and an interest in the sites for people living nearby, and educate and inform domestic and foreign tourists about nature and environmental protection in general and of natural features of BCS in particular.