Mexican Saltworks Raises Ecology Concern
11/21/99
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Title: Saltworks Raises Ecology Concern
Source: Chicago Tribune
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: November 21, 1999
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO -- Construction of a huge saltworks at a northern
Mexican lagoon would seriously alter the surrounding area, which is a
World Heritage site and key breeding ground for gray whales, a United
Nations agency warned.
A report to be presented at this week's meeting in Morocco of the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization urges
Mexico to consider carefully the "World Heritage values" of the site
when evaluating the salt plant proposal.
The saltworks at San Ignacio Lagoon, located on the Pacific coast of
the Baja California Peninsula, would be the world's second largest,
producing 7.7 million tons of salt annually.
The UNESCO statement said "the new project would clearly bring major
changes to the land surrounding Laguna San Ignacio, which is currently
the best preserved . . . lagoon system in Baja California."
UNESCO officials visited the lagoon in August but were unable to
determine fully how the saltworks might affect the area because they
hadn't yet received an environmental impact statement.