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Los Arcos: Islands in Danger!
by Biol. Oscar S. Aranda Mena |
 One of the natural symbols of Puerto Vallarta and one of the favorite places for our visitors, Los Arcos is a group of small islands and rocks where you can enjoy recreational activities and admire nature. It is supposed to be a protected area but what is it really? What is "Los Arcos"?Los Arcos is an area of 5 small islands located 6.5 miles southwest of Puerto Vallarta, with an area of approximately 30 hectares. Its name comes from the whimsical shapes that three of its islands have, as they have tunnels that small boats can actually cross under, which gives the appearance of natural arches. The Birthplace of our City Since before the founding of Puerto Vallarta, the Los Arcos site was a known and emblematic. These large rocks were baptized in 1541 as "Las Peñas" by the Spanish explorer Don Pedro de Alvarado, which became the first name of Puerto Vallarta itself. It was in 1851 when it was changed to "Las Peñas de Santa Maria de Guadalupe" in honor of these islets and the Virgin of Guadalupe. By the nineteenth century the town site was known as "Puerto Las Peñas", a name that was dropped at the time of becoming a municipality in 1918, when it finally received its current name: Puerto Vallarta. Regardless of the story and that the name has no longer remains as, "Las Peñas", they are better known as Los Arcos, and due to their proximity to the city, have been a site of great beauty and environmental importance, used extensively by tourist service providers for decades, becoming one of the favorite places for recreation, representing major economic income for the city and the entire region.  A "Protected" AreaIt was in 1975 when the government decided to protect Los Arcos from the overfishing that existed at the site, declaring it as a "place of refuge for the protection of marine flora and fauna." Since then, fishermen and service providers perceive the site as a natural protected area, which has allowed them since to maintain their natural characteristics. A few months ago, I had the opportunity to participate in a study of the current status of Los Arcos, since there is a history of two previous scientific studies that concluded that excessive tourism is damaging and degrading the site. In order to ascertain the degree of risk to the site and are widely ecological, legal and socio-cultural, directly affecting the site, which yielded interesting, but also alarming results. To my surprise, and all those who, for years, have ensured that Los Arcos is a protected area, the reality is that it is that it is not the case. The document which gave them security and protection against bad fishing practices and other activities is now obsolete, as the laws that were in effect are now obsolete and there is no noticeable enforcement. Now, sad to say, there is no decree that protects Los Arcos from abusive operators or bad tourism practices, which, incidentally, have proved to be the greatest threat to the area, as current use is done on an indiscriminate and massive scale, which puts tremendous pressure on the area's ecosystem.  It's Not All bad newsFortunately, the image is that Los Arcos is a protected area has enabled these islands remain intact and the general conditions at the site are still very good. For its economic importance, there are important efforts to enact a new decree to obtain a Natural Protected Area status and the best part is that it is strongly supported by Vallartans themselves, as they are an important symbol of our city. There remains the difficult task of raising the financial resources to complete the formalities, because as you might imagine, it would require costly studies to show scientifically what we all know; that Los Arcos is a unique area that deserves to be protected and respected by us all. |
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