Terra Peninsular, an Ensenada-based conservation nonprofit, won the silver prize for climate action and biodiversity conservation at the 6th World Travel Market (WTM) Latin America awards ceremony in São Paulo, Brazil. The recognition, announced on April 26, places one of Baja California’s longest-running environmental organizations on an international stage. It also adds a concrete credential to Ensenada’s growing reputation as an eco-tourism destination.
Terra Peninsular Has Protected Baja Ecosystems for 25 Years
Terra Peninsular A.C. was founded in 2001 with a focus on land conservation across the Baja California peninsula. Over the past quarter-century, the organization has worked to acquire, restore, and manage natural areas that face pressure from urban expansion, agriculture, and climate change. Its portfolio includes properties in coastal wetlands, Mediterranean scrublands, and mountain zones throughout the state of Baja California.
One of the group’s most prominent projects is the conservation of the Punta Banda estuary, a coastal wetland roughly 15 kilometers south of Ensenada. The estuary supports migratory shorebirds along the Pacific Flyway, a route stretching from Alaska to Patagonia. Terra Peninsular manages monitoring programs at the site and has worked to limit encroachment from nearby development.
The organization also operates in the San Quintín area, about 190 kilometers south of Ensenada. San Quintín’s coastal wetlands were designated a Ramsar site (a wetland of international importance under the 1971 Ramsar Convention) in 2008. Terra Peninsular has partnered with local ejidos, which are communal land-holding communities, to protect habitat for the endangered Ridgway’s rail and other species that depend on the salt marshes.
Beyond wetlands, the group has conservation interests in the Sierra de San Pedro Mártir, home to Baja California’s highest peaks and one of the peninsula’s few remaining stands of conifer forest. The sierra hosts the San Pedro Mártir National Observatory and serves as critical watershed for communities downstream.
WTM Latin America Award Recognizes Conservation-Based Tourism
The WTM Latin America Responsible Tourism Awards have been held annually since 2020 as part of the broader World Travel Market trade show. The awards evaluate tourism-related projects across categories including carbon reduction, community benefit, and biodiversity. Judges review applications from across Latin America and the Caribbean.
Terra Peninsular’s silver prize in the climate action and biodiversity category places it alongside winners from countries with far larger tourism industries, including Brazil and Colombia. The award specifically recognized the group’s cross-border conservation work, a reference to its partnerships with U.S.-based land trusts and universities in Southern California.
Ensenada Mayor Claudia Agatón Muñiz congratulated the organization publicly on April 26. She also announced that the city’s environmental department, the Dirección de Administración Urbana, Ecología y Medio Ambiente, had contacted Terra Peninsular to explore formal collaboration. The statement did not specify what form that collaboration would take, but Ensenada’s municipal government has been expanding its eco-tourism messaging as part of a broader strategy to attract visitors beyond the cruise ship terminal and the Valle de Guadalupe wine region.
Ensenada’s Eco-Tourism Sector Draws International Visitors
Ensenada receives roughly 800,000 cruise ship passengers per year, according to port authority data, but the city has been working to diversify its tourism economy. The Valle de Guadalupe wine corridor, located about 30 kilometers northeast of the city, draws an estimated 500,000 visitors annually and has become one of Mexico’s most recognized food and wine destinations.
Nature-based tourism is a smaller but growing segment. Whale-watching tours operate out of the port during gray whale season, typically from December through April. Birdwatching groups visit the Punta Banda estuary and San Quintín wetlands year-round. And the Bufadora blowhole, a popular day-trip destination south of the city, draws both cruise passengers and road-trippers from San Diego, which sits about 110 kilometers to the north.
Terra Peninsular’s award could help formalize Ensenada’s position in the responsible tourism market. The WTM brand carries weight with European and Latin American tour operators who build itineraries around sustainability credentials. For visitors already traveling to Ensenada for wine and food, conservation sites like Punta Banda and San Quintín offer a natural extension of their trip.
Terra Peninsular accepts volunteers for habitat restoration and monitoring work through its website at terrapeninsular.org. The organization also hosts educational events and guided visits at several of its conservation sites. The next WTM Latin America trade show is expected to take place in São Paulo in April 2027, as reported by Ensenada.net.