Sustainable and participative management in the regulation of marine activities for the preservation of species in "El Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve"

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by Everardo Mariano, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur

Grey whale

Everardo Mariano

El Vizcaino Whale Sanctuary is the most important place in the world for the protection of the once endangered grey whale.

In this area there are fishing and nautical tourism, which coincides with the migratory routes of whales.

Due to this fact and in order to ensure the habitat conservation, the following measures have been taken:

Weekly biological monitoring.
Ethological analysis in a system of areas differentiated by activities.
Shared strategies with tourism companies so that their activities do not alter the biological processes of whales and whale calves.
Implementation of the 1996 emergency Act for the protection and conservation of the grey whale.

These measures have made progress towards the conservation of the grey whale and driving to the economic development of the region and fostering the participation of the civil society.

Last update: 06 May 2021

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Context

Challenges addressed

Increasing temperatures

Infrastructure development

Lack of access to long-term funding

Lack of technical capacity

Lack of infrastructure

Scale of implementation

Local

National

Multi-national

Ecosystems

Deep sea

Lagoon

Theme

Access and benefit sharing

Species management

Adaptation

Mitigation

Connectivity / transboundary conservation

Ecosystem services

Legal & policy frameworks

Protected and conserved areas governance

Sustainable livelihoods

Local actors

Coastal and marine spatial management

Protected and conserved areas management planning

Science and research

Fisheries and aquaculture

Tourism

World Heritage

Location

Ojo de Liebre Lagoon, Mexico

North America

Impacts

Impacts

Grey whale population recovery.
Designation of specific whale watching areas.
Ban on fishing nets in lagoons.
Broad community participation.
Good tourism practices in these lagoons led to national guidelines.
Regulatory support with clear guidelines of behavior for each activity.
Establishing the carrying capacity to limit the number of boats that can perform whale watching.