S.E.Ing.

Juan Rafael Elvira Quesada Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9G U

Secretario Telephone 020-3353 2000
Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales guardian.co.uk
Periférico Sur No.4209, 6 Piso
Col. Jardines del la Montaña
México D.F. 14210
Mexico

October 5, 2010

Dear Secretary of the Environment and Natural Resources,

I am writing on behalf of the Guardian newspaper in the United Kingdom and our readers
worldwide to ask you to consider a proposal for protecting Mexico’s biodiversity.

The action has been proposed by our online readers and developed by professional scientists. It
is based by scientific evidence.

We believe it will both protect an important species and habitat and send a clear signal to the
negotiations at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity COP10 in Nagoya later this month
that the decisive, concrete actions can and must be taken to halt the alarming decline in global
biodiversity.

Our campaign, Biodiversity 100, has identified 26 achievable actions in a number of countries
and has the support of the international scientific community. We are sharing our proposals with
journalists around the world, who will be able to measure the success of their national and local
governments in implementing the actions we have put forward. For more details of the
campaign please go to guardian.co.uk/biodiversity100.

The specific proposal we request that you consider is to implement a fishing moratorium on all
entangling nets in the range of the Vaquita (more details below).

We kindly request you to react publicly to our recommendation, both through national media
and through your statements to the CBD COP10 plenary. We also urge you to consider
including our proposed action when you revise your National Biodiversity Strategy and Action
Plan after COP10.

As a major international media outlet with a global audience, the Guardian takes seriously its
responsibility to report on the planet’s biodiversity crisis. We would be very keen to hear back
from you about your country’s efforts to protect the natural environment and, especially, to hear
of your reaction to our proposal.
Yours Sincerely,

Alan Rusbridger
Editor-in-Chief
The Guardian
CC: Sra. Socorro Flores Liera, Director General for Global issues, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive secretary, CBD

Vaquita
Action: Implement a fishing moratorium on all entangling nets in the range of the vaquita

Description: The recent likely extinction of the baiji or Chinese river dolphin makes the
vaquita (Phocoena sinus) – the Gulf of California porpoise – the most endangered cetacean.
There are estimated to be 250 vaquitas in the world, a 56% decline from the last estimate in
1997. Since 2007, Mexico has been implementing a ban on the use of gillnets by fishermen in
a refuge area for the species and has a voluntary programme of fishing permit buyouts.
However, this does not go far enough to prevent extinction, say scientists. As vaquita
populations approach a critically low number, scientists maintain that accidental “bycatch” of
vaquita in fishing nets must be reduced to zero and that removal of all gillnets from the animal’s
entire range is the only way to accomplish zero mortality. Local fishing communities must be
compensated and trained in alternative livelihoods or alternative fishing equipment.

Evidence: A 2006 study argues that the bycatch toll from gillnets is unsustainable. The
current vaquita refuge contains an estimated 47% of the population - according to a paper by
Gerrodette that is currently under Review. Another paper, published in Conservation Biology,
calls for “Immediate Action, not more data”.

For the full version of this text with links to scientific papers, please visit the Biodiversity 100 site:
guardian.co.uk/biodiversity100