VIII.23 Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaino (Mexico)

The Secretariat informed the Committee that, following the President of Mexico's statement of 2 March 2000, the proposed salt works at the World Heritage site of El Vizcaino would not proceed. The Committee noted that letters from the Chairperson of the Committee and the Director-General of UNESCO welcomed this decision and congratulated the President of Mexico for the actions taken to implement the World Heritage Convention. The UN Foundation had approved a US$ 2.5 million project entitled "Linking Conservation of Biodiversity and Sustainable Tourism at World Heritage sites" for six sites, including the two natural sites in Mexico, the Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaino and Sian Ka'an. The Committee furthermore noted that the Management Plan of the El Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve has been published and transmitted to the Centre.

The Committee commended the Mexican Government for its actions to ensure the conservation of the World Heritage values of the Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaino and to implement the World Heritage Convention. It encouraged the authorities to collaborate with the Centre and other interested partners in implementing on-site projects for demonstrating possibilities for generating employment and income for local communities, such as the UN Foundation project on 'Linking Conservation of Biodiversity and Sustainable Tourism at World Heritage Sites'.