Interview: Alejandro Gonzalez, GC's new Director for Mexico

Alejandro Gonzalez is Global Conservation's new Director for Mexico. He took some time out of his busy schedule to talk to us about his background, his new role with GC, and what he loves about Mexican marine protected areas.

Tell us a little about yourself.

I studied oceanography, natural resource management, and rural development. In 2008, I started my adventure as director of Cabo Pulmo National Park. For six years, I worked there with communities and law enforcement. Cabo Pulmo is a small national park, but it's a good example of collaboration between the federal government, academic researchers and of course the communities.

After that, I was moved to Loreto National Park, where I worked with the local government to improve tourism practices. For example, the blue whale watching zone in Loreto is amazing. We worked really hard with tourist operators and experts at the university in order to create a better way of watching blue whales that respects their behavior. I later worked in Revillagigedo National Park, the biggest Marine Park in Mexico at almost 15 million hectares. It’s been a true honor to work to conserve these special areas.

Why is it important to include local communities in conservation efforts?

In Mexico, almost all national parks are surrounded by communities. These protected areas are historically used by people for fishing or other natural resources, and when you forbid access to the natural resources inside a park, there is a conflict of interest with the communities. So, you have to work with them to achieve your conservation goals. It's very important to find a balance between sustainable use of the of natural resources and the needs of the people. 

Besides, it's very important to keep in mind that you can’t do all the work alone. In the case of Cabo Pulmo National Park, it was actually the local communities that asked the government to create a national park. You have to listen to the people. Because they know so much about the area -- they know the history, the geography, the biology. It’s so important to listen to them.

Tell us about your new role with Global Conservation.

I have two major goals for my work with GC. The first is to position Global Conservation in the region, in the Gulf of California, to best protect Cabo Pulmo and Loreto National Parks. This is a beautiful coastal and marine region, full of incredible landscapes, important biodiversity, and impressive megafauna. The most important thing is to make sure our local partners have the capacity to enforce conservation laws. We have to provide technology, training, expertise and of course, funding for these national parks to operate effectively. 

Secondly, we want to support a new compliance initiative, which will improve enforcement through collaboration with authorities, judges, police, and others. We want to achieve change. We have to make sure that the system is working as a whole – that judges, for example, understand environmental laws and the impact of illegal fishing so that they can sentence criminals appropriately. Ultimately we want to stop illegal fishing in these areas.

Why is Global Conservation’s work in Mexican marine protected areas so important?

Global Conservation has been working in Mexico for the last five or six years, providing critical conservation technology to Loreto National Park and Cabo Pulmo National Park. GC has provided funding, training, and access to this technology, working together with local NGOs.

What makes Cabo Pulmo and Loreto so special? Why is it important that we conserve them?

Cabo Pulmo National Park has the only coral reef in the Gulf of California. It’s also a “Hope Spot”, or a very high biodiversity area that’s critical to the health of our oceans, and is an incredible conservation success story. For the past 20 years, we’ve been working on allowing Cabo Pulmo to recover from overfishing – and now the fish biomass has inccreased around 400% in the past 10 years. This is so important, because fish and other marine life provides both food and an economic benefit – in the form of tourism – to the people. 

Loreto, on the other hand, is impressive for a couple of reasons. It has an incredible cultural history – it was the first capital of California and the first mission that Spanish conquistadors established. Its natural history is equally amazing – it has an incredible richness and density of megafauna. 7% of all marine mammal species in the world live here. Right now, in winter, we have blue whales, fin whales, minke whales, and a lot of dolphins. We also have humpback whales, giant manta rays, and sometimes orcas. In the past seven years, orcas have become more common in the Gulf of California. So, yeah, it's the capital of marine mammals.

Of all the species that are there in Cabo Pulmo and Loreto, do you have a favorite?

In Loreto, it’s probably the blue whale. They’re so huge – when you see one, you realize we humans are really tiny, and being in the presence of such a huge animal is mind-blowing. It's amazing. It's amazing. 

On the other side, in Cabo Pulmo, my favorite is the bull shark. It's very impressive to dive with them, because you know that they could attack you and there’s not much that you can do about it. But they don’t. It’s very humbling. 

What are the biggest threats to Cabo Pulmo and Loreto?

Illegal fishing is the biggest problem, but tourism development can also be a threat when it's not well managed. 

Why should the average person who lives halfway across the world from Mexico care about the conservation of Cabo Pulmo and Loreto?

Well, it’s not only Cabo Pulmo and Loreto that are important to conserve, but the whole planet – this is where we live. We depend on nature and the ecosystem services that it provides us. But in Mexico, Cabo Pulmo and Loreto are especially important because they’re an incredible part of our natural heritage, and the next generation has the right to enjoy them as we do. Unfortunately many Mexicans don’t know much about these parks, and I’d love for that awareness to increase. 

What can people do in their everyday lives to help conserve the ocean?

Ultimately, all your actions impact the sea. If you eat fish from unsustainable fisheries, you’re impacting the ocean. When you drop trash into the street, it ends up in the ocean. Your cell phone is full of minerals that are connected to the sea, and if you buy a new one every year, you’re having a greater impact on the environment. 

What you buy makes a difference. It’s important for everyone to stay informed about that kind of thing, use that information to make better decisions, and to share what they learn with friends and loved ones. It’s all about being a responsible consumer. 

Of course, you can also help by finding an organization who works toward ocean conservation, like GC, and supporting them.