Within the El Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve (Baja California Sur) is the Ejido Luis Echeverria Alvarez, a site that attracts global attention since the grey whale stops there in its migratory journey to give birth to its offspring.
This community with just over 300 inhabitants is known for its fishing activity and whale watching. Since 2005, under the legal premise of an ecological easement, it has committed to protecting and sustainably using the area’s resources in the long-term. To that end, it has concentrated on developing strategies for the appropriate management of generated waste by delimiting a garbage and a recycling area and acquiring a compactor and incinerator.
However, plastic bags have been a persistent problem made worse by wind conditions, which drag the bags toward vegetation and the sea. To support the efforts of the Ejido, and with the aim of eradicating their long-term use, during the last six months we developed a pilot project, For a Sea Free of Plastics, which seeks to promote habit change and community involvement through positive reinforcement by having children motivate their parents to modify practices around the use of these materials.
Changing plastic bags in the Laguna
This initiative, a precedent for the importance of collaboration, consists of an album of collectible stamps about nature in the region and promoting the use of cloth bags. One-hundred and forty primary school kids received an album and a cloth bag for their families that was made by the women of the Ejido. Thanks to the support of the local stores, the stamps were periodically distributed according to participants’ change in behavior.
Laguna San Ignacio is a “very participatory community, we would like the campaign to scale to at least all of El Vizcaino and then to other communities, but all of this will depend on the funds we receive,” said Daniela Lopez Acosta, Pronatura Noroeste Project Coordinator.
At the end of the project, the children who filled in their collectible stamp album obtained a present that included elements for each family member.
A cleaner coast
The results are starting to be noticeable; the coast in Ejido Luis Echeverria Alvarez, Laguna San Ignacio has fewer traces of plastic bags. However, this is only the first activity to counteract their use. In addition to continuously promoting a change in behavior and use of a cloth bag, we will concentrate on developing – with the community – projects about the separation, recycling, and collection of waste.
“You have to keep doing things so that you do not go backwards, so you continue to believe in and live the benefits of reducing plastics. For example, the Ejido has made other proposals to avoid the use of disposable items in different events. I am happy but also anxious for us to continue projects like this in the Laguna,” concluded Daniela Lopez Acosta.
Confeccionaron las bolsas
Angelica Gallegos Navarro, Beatriz Cortez Gaytan, Refugio Gallegos Navarro, Juana Morales Maciel, Nahyeli Ureta Gallegos, Margarita Espino Montelongo e Irazema Figueroa Castillo.
Supporting stores
- Diconsa San Ignacio – Paula Rojas
- Expendio El Cardon – Maria Antonia Arce Murillo
- Abarrotes Sánchez – María Luisa Rojas
- Miscelanea Zacatecas- Micaela Gonzalez y Gonzalo Ramirez
Child winners
Lisseth Gallegos Navarro, Lineth Gallegos Navarro, Sofia Ramirez Morales, Cristian Partida Gallegos y Edrey Partida Gallegos.
