Faced with the constant deterioration caused by uncontrolled fishing, and with the help of academics, 25 years ago the inhabitants of the community of Cabo Pulmo, Mexico, decided to stop fishing and change gears by focusing on sustainable tourism. The first 14 years of the Park saw the need to better regulate human activities, until 2009 when the Management Program was published. However, some rules defined in it were still not specific to tourist activities. That year, work began on a Public Use Program (PUP), to establish these rules. The PUP has been built in collaboration with the community, academics, tourism service providers, CONANP and Civil Society Organizations. During these years we have witnessed that the sum of participation, capacity building and management actions, give as a result environmental benefits to the reef and economic ones for the local community.