Mexican Whale Researchers Sound the Alarm on an Energy Megaproject

In November, 2024 the CSG Regional Coordinator for Central America and Mexico and other CSG members from Mexico called attention to the potential negative impacts of the construction of extensive LNG facilities on the Sonoran coast of the Gulf of California, Mexico. The proposed site was identified in 2022 as an Important Marine Mammal Area,  that provides habitat for blue, fin and humpback whales as well as a wide variety of dolphins. The Cetacean Specialist Group worked with John Paul Rodríguez, Chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) and Madhu Rao, Chair of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA), to draft a letter of concern, which was sent on November 29th to the highest levels of government.  This letter, together with other awareness raising and lobbying efforts, has led to legal challenges and the temporary halt of development plans.

The letter, in which the risks to cetaceans in the vicinity of the project were clearly described and supported by scientific evidence, was followed by letters from environmental bodies and legal firms that provided further evidence of irreparable environmental and reputational damage that could ensue from the project.  Public protests followed, with whales serving as the flagship species that would be negatively impacted.  The current reprieve may only be temporary, but we hope that the awareness raised, and momentum to protect the whales and their habitat will be sufficient to convince decision makers to find an alternative and less vulnerable site for the development.

The issue was recently covered in an article in Science, which specifically mentions the letter from the IUCN and the role that scientists have played in drawing attention to the risks of the project, contributing to legal and public actions that have slowed its progress—a testament to the power of uniting science and civil society through our IUCN platforms.

For more detail read the Science article: