New port expansion and gas megaprojects planned by the government of Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum on the Baja California peninsula have sparked activism from dozens of citizen and environmental groups due to the lack of public information about the details. They are demanding that the federal government review the projects’ viability, given the risk of irreversible damage, such as beach destruction and danger to marine animals and ecosystems.
In the north, the Ensenada Digna collective, comprised of citizens from various sectors, warns of risks if the ports in that municipality are renovated, following an announcement made by Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo last December.
Although the initial mobilizations resulted in the mayor herself announcing a public consultation, this has not reassured organized civil society, given past experiences with other projects, such as the one by Constellation Brands.
The project is planned for the Sauzal de Rodríguez district, along the highways leading to the Wine Route in the Guadalupe Valley. It would involve constructing a 4.5-kilometer-long concrete slab and destroying nine beaches within the sixth World Surfing Reserve, Todos Santos Bay, the birthplace of Mexican surfing (3 Emes and San Miguel beaches).
In Baja California Sur, the Whales or Gas coalition warns of the risk of death for cetaceans—among other community impacts—should a gas-fired power plant be built, as it would require enormous LNG tankers to enter Pichilingue Bay, in the state capital, La Paz.
Source: proceso
