Dear Jesus Silva Herzog:
I have been following the issue of the proposed Salt Works in San Ignacio
by Exportadora de Sal and the Mitsubishi corporation. After reviewing the
information available about the works, I have some concerns over the impact
that the facility may have against the Gray Whales. As you probably know,
San Ignacio is now the main calving grounds for the Gray Whales. Guerrero
Negro already went through a period where a severe drop of Gray Whale numbers
occurred during commercial shipping instigated by its local salt work facilities.
If the San Ignacio plant is to be built, we must insure that a similar
situation does not occur. While the Mitsubishi Corporation insists that
the salt works will not have any detrimental effect on the Gray Whale,
this is not a proven theory. They continuously refer to their operations
in Guerrero Negro, and the current flourishing of the Gray Whale population.
This is because they avoided Guerrero Negro during the period of commercial
shipping, and only after shipping stopped did they come back. Now they're
ready to use shipping again in San Ignacio, and special consideration should
be given to the 2km pier that they will be building. They claim that the
supports will be built far enough apart that the gray whales can swim through
them (thus not interfering with their activity.) This needs to be tested
and proven before the actual pier is built, since current decisions are
based entirely on speculation. Please take the time to consider the problems
that this salt facility can generate. The Gray Whales have been pushed
near to extinction twice already, and they may not be so lucky as to recover
a third time if their breeding grounds are disturbed. Not to mention that
tourism from the whales is a major issue in the San Ignacio economy --
who knows what could happen to their economy if the Gray Whales were no
longer available as a tourist attraction!
Sincerely,
James Wihardja
April 26,1998
Julia Carabias
Ministerio de Ecologia
Periferico sur 4209
Sexto Piso FRACC. Jardines de La Montana
Mexico City, Mexico 14210
Dear Ms. Carabias,
I am writing to you in protest to the proposal by Exportadora de Sal,
S.A.
(ESSA) and Mitsubishi to build a salt mine in San Ignacio Lagoon. There
is
currently a salt facility in operation at Guerrero Negro to the north.
The
California Gray Whale use both these lagoons as breeding and nursing
ground. The saltworks have changed the ecology at Guerrero Negro, and
thus
the whales no longer visit that lagoon. I fear that the same event
will
occur at San Ignacio if the proposal is approved.
San Ignacio is the last undisturbed breeding lagoon. There is no concrete
evidence that the whales will find another lagoon or come back to San
Ignacio once ESSA and Mitsubishi are done with there work there. We
cannot
allow these magnificent creatures to be lost forever. It is an amazing
feat that they are the first marine mammals to be taken off the endangered
species list after rebounding from near extinction.
Economically, I feel that San Ignacio will not benefit much from the
new
salt facility. Mitsubishi claims that a new saltworks will pump additional
revenue and create much needed new jobs for the community. From past
experiences at Guerrero Negro, most of the jobs went to Japanese workers,
and the rest were low paying jobs that went to the community. The company
profits but at a cost to the people who live in the company town.
Also San Ignacio, as well as Guerrero Negro, are located in the
Vizcaino Desert Biosphere Reserve. My understanding is that this reserve
was created to protect the environment, thus prohibiting man from
disturbing it. If this still holds, I believe that ESSA and Mitsubishi
should not even be there in the first place.
Ultimately the decision whether or not to build another salt production
facility is in the hands of the Mexican government. Please, I only
ask you
to carefully consider the long term effects of such an action on the
economy as well as the ecology of San Ignacio.
Sincerely,
Caroline Tran
University of California, Irvine
April 25, 1998
Ernesto Zedillo Ponce
President of Mexico
Mexican Consulate
2401 W. 6th St.
Los Angeles, CA 90057
Dear Mr. President,
I am writing to express my concerns over the proposed salt evaporation facility at Laguna San Ignacio. Realizing that both the Mexican government and Mitsubishi are partners in sponsoring this project, I hope that you, as the lead representative of the Mexican government, will take all matters into consideration before moving ahead with the proposal. Should the project be realized, I believe that a great wrong will be committed not only against the California Gray Whale but also against the people of Laguna San Ignacio.
As you must know, San Ignacio possesses one of the last superficially unmarred breeding and calving lagoon for the California Gray Whale. It is for this reason, the return of the gray whales each winter to San Ignacio, that tourism has played such a heavy role in the economic well-being of the surrounding community: the people of San Ignacio base their lives upon tourists coming to see these whales. With the production of a saltworks, there arises a great possibility that the gray whales will be driven away by the unquestionable alteration of the lagoon. Moreover, although the implementation of this facility would create about five hundred new jobs, half of the jobs will not go to Mexican Nationals. Where is the economic benefit for the people of San Ignacio?
Looking at the consequences of a similar project (the completed saltworks at Guerrero Negro) upon the California Gray Whale, the negative effects of man's interference with nature may be viewed. While those at the Guerrero Negro salt evaporation facility used shipping to transport salt, sightings of any whales at the site heavily diminished. A likely interpretation of their disappearance is that the grays were driven away by the significant changes in environment for which the procedures involved in the operation of a salt evaporation facility are responsible. If San Ignacio is also the site for a salt evaporation facility, one of the last undisturbed havens for these whales to breed and calve will be stripped from them.
The possible consequences resulting from the production of a saltworks
at the San Ignacio Lagoon upon the community and the gray whales far outweigh
any benefits that could be derived from the salt mine. For further information,
please refer to http://darwin.bio.uci.edu/~sustain/issueguides/Gray_whale/index.htm
Mr. President, after taking these matters into consideration, I would ask
you not to be a party to the implementation of the proposed salt evaporation
facility at Laguna San Ignacio. Please halt this idea before
it is actualized!
Sincerely,
Loan Le
Concerned student