GREY WHALES' MEXICAN SANCTUARY TO BE PRESERVED
Paris, March 13 {No.2000-19} - Grey whales will remain undisturbed in El Vizcaíno
(Mexico) thanks to the cancellation of a project to construct the world's
largest seasalt-works in the site, which has been on UNESCO's World Heritage
List since 1993.
Early this month, Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo announced the
cancellation of the Exportadora de Sal (ESSA) corporation's controversial
project. It was to be constructed in El Vizcaíno, in Baja California, which
has an exceptionally rich ecosystem. El Vizcaíno is used as a breeding
ground and wintering site by grey whales, California sea lions and
endangered sea turtle species (including the Caretta caretta or loggerhead
turtle). It is also occasionally visited by Northern elephant seals.
The presence of grey whales has created a particularly strong
interest in the site. Traditionally found on both sides of the Atlantic
Ocean, the grey whale disappeared from that ocean in the late 19th century.
Today, the Pacific Ocean is home to the last two remaining grey whale
populations: an Asian population, small and threatened by the deterioration
of its habitat and illegal fishing, migrates from the Sea of Okhotsk to the
South China Sea; an American (Californian) population migrates from the
Bering and Chukchi Seas to Baja California where it breeds. The American
grey whale has recovered remarkably well from the depletion of 19th and 20th
century hunting and represents the best hope for the survival of this family
of whales, the Eschrichtiidae.
The population of American grey whales is estimated at 26,000. Their
number is believed to have been increasing by 2.5% annually since 1967-68
but it is believed that the rate of increase is declining, reaching an
equilibrium between birth and mortality. Public opinion was particularly
shaken in 1998-99 by the unexplained death of many grey whales when 114 were
found dead on the Mexican coast alone. Against this background, numerous
environmental protection organisations were quick to criticise ESSA -
jointly owned by the Mexican Ministry of Trade (51%) and by Japan's
Mitsubishi corporation (49%) and already active in the region - and its
salt-works project.
ESSA already operated the Guerrero Negro salt-works - the largest in
the world - in this area, in the Laguna Ojo de Liebre. Guerrero Negro
produces 22 million tons of sea salt a year, i.e. 35% of the world
production. It started operating in 1954, long before the inscription of the
site on the World Heritage List. The works did not pose a problem and their
large surface area was used by birds as a sanctuary. This economic activity
was considered to have a relatively low impact on the environment. But the
impact of the industrial phase of production, which generates brine and
gypsum, with its noise and heavy traffic, is much more dangerous for the
environment than the evaporation and crystallisation process.
But the controversial project concerned the Laguna San Ignacio, the whales'
sanctuary. Of a size similar to that of Ojo de Liebre, the project would
have caused an extensive change in the site due to the creation of 26,500
hectares of evaporation basins and 2,700 hectares of crystallisation basins,
the construction of an industrial complex, a 5-kilometre-long conveyor belt
and a 2.3 kilometre pier. The planned investment totalled US$150 million
over approximately 10 years entailing the creation of 216 new jobs. A
coalition of 58 Mexican and international environmental groups opposed the
project.
Unesco's World Heritage Committee studied the problem and, at the
invitation of the Government of Mexico, and a mission was sent to the site
last August. The UNESCO-led mission did not criticise the existing
salt-works and praised the Mexican authorities' commitment in favour of
preserving the site. On the basis of available information - the
environmental impact assessment was not yet available at that time - the
mission stressed that the project would entail transforming a very large
area inside the heritage site and could therefore undermine its integrity.
The landscape of the site as a whole was more severely threatened than the
whales. This has also been the conclusion of the 40-odd scientists involved
in the impact assessment. It was this argument which finally made the
Mexican authorities cancel the project. As President Ernest Zedillo declared
on March 2: "There are few places in the world like the El Vizcaíno
Reservation [...] a unique place as much for the species that live there as
for its natural beauty."
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