Around the Region

Environmental groups seeking to halt a planned mega-development on the eastern coast of the Baja California peninsula have opened a new front in their campaign: dissuading potential investors.

In an “investor risk advisory” this month, the U.S. nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council and its Mexican partner, Niparajá, take aim at Cabo Cortés, a 3,800-hectare (9,400-acre)tourism and real estate complex proposed by the Spanish developer Hansa Urbana.

A year ago, President Dilma Rousseff launched Brazil’s Strategic Border Plan to curb illegal logging, gold mining and cocaine trafficking. Since then, four enforcement crackdowns have been conducted under the plan, and authorities say they’ve helped prevent the expansion of environmentally destructive activities in frontier regions, particularly in the Amazon.

Banks whose lending takes social and environmental benefits and risks into account are outperforming traditional mainstream banks in such key areas as return on assets, growth in loans and deposits and capital strength, according to a recent report.

Chile has declared a coastal temperate rainforest preserve near the southern city of Valdivia a new national park. Called the Alerce Costero National Park, the approximately 25,000-hectare (62,000-acre) park will include 9,500 hectares (23,500 acres) donated by international environmental group The Nature Conservancy (TNC).