El Pinacate and Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve

• Impacts of tourism/visitor/recreation (tourism activities, off-road vehicles as well as potential problems derived from tourism-related water consumption)
• Invasive/alien terrestrial species
• Ground transport infrastructure (proposed roads)
• Necessity to save the Sonoran Pronghorn from possible extinction
• Environmental concerns in security efforts along the international border

N/A

On 9 February 2022, the State Party of Mexico submitted a report on the state of conservation of the property, which is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1410/documents/ and provides the following information:

• Construction of a border wall between the USA and Mexico along the property boundary (carried out by the USA in its territory) including a solid metal wall, another parallel mesh wall, barbed wire and service and surveillance roads;
• It is stated that the border wall will inevitably have effects on the biodiversity and the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property due to habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation, reduced access to resources, isolation and fragmentation of wildlife populations such as the Sonoran Pronghorn, increased human activity, among other aspects such as depletion of water resources. Monitoring programs are in place with respect to these issues;
• The National Commission for Protected Areas (CONANP) of the State Party of Mexico, and the National Park Service (NPS) of the State Party of the USA are establishing a programme of collaboration to restore connectivity between the north-western Sonora and south-western Arizona regions and identify potential actions to reduce the impacts to the property as a result of the border wall;
• The Sonoran Pronghorn recovery plan has been prepared and comprises a number of activities including a captive breeding program, water supply and forage improvement project, pronghorn translocation program, census and aerial monitoring.

On 24 March 2022, the World Heritage Centre received a letter from the State Party of the USA confirming that the border wall construction at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (OPCNM) and Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge (CPNWR), along the international border with Mexico and adjacent to the property, has concluded though there may be additional activities related to remediation and completion of stabilization of existing infrastructure. It is stated that discussions have begun between both States Parties on potential collaboration to assess and mitigate impacts from construction works on shared resources and ecological connectivity.

On 20 and 21 April 2022, additional details were received from the State Party of Mexico and the State Party of the USA respectively. Of the 140 km of the USA/Mexico border adjacent to the property, a border wall has been erected on 109 km according to the letter from the State Party of the USA, and along approximately 128.7 km according to the letter from the State Party of Mexico, with the only gaps remaining in mountainous areas, where the construction of the border fence is more difficult. There are small wildlife openings in the base of the barrier at various locations along OPCNM.

On 19 October 2022, the State Party of Mexico submitted a summary of environmental-regional impact assessment for the transmission network associated with the photovoltaic power plant Puerto Peñasco. IUCN provided a technical review of this assessment, which was transmitted to the State Party on 22 December 2022.

On 29 March 2023, the World Heritage Centre sent a letter to the State Party of the USA conveying additional third-party information regarding the above-mentioned border wall. The letter requested updates on mitigating measures that may have been taken to restore connectivity between these areas and the property.

On 23 June 2023, the State Party of the USA replied that after consultations with CONANP of Mexico, the NPS recently commissioned a study to evaluate the impacts of the US-Mexico border wall on mammal communities of the Sonoran Desert, focused on the protected area complex consisting of the property and CPNWR and OPCNM. Initial results of this study will be available by 2025, with a final report in early 2026.

It is concerning that the construction of the border wall adjoining the property border wall has been constructed along almost the entire boundary between the property and adjoining areas of OPCNM and most of the CPNWR, with the exception of two mountainous areas. While it is noted that some small openings to allow passage of some wildlife are foreseen along the border with OPCNM, it is unclear how effective these will be to facilitate wildlife movement. The border wall will therefore constitute an almost impenetrable physical barrier for wildlife between the property and adjoining important wildlife dispersal areas, which are vital for the survival of species such as the Sonoran Pronghorn, that represent a key attribute of the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (OUV). The presence of this barrier will almost block the movements of wildlife populations and result in direct further negative impacts to the integrity of the property as well as on wider ecological connectivity. l

The recent information received in June 2023 from the State Party of the USA, that a study Given the threat the border wall is posing to the OUV of the property, it is recommended that the State Party of Mexico, in coordination with the State Party of the USA, invite a Reactive Monitoring mission to the property to assess the impacts of the border wall on the OUV of the property and the measures taken to guarantee the connectivity of the property with the adjacent wildlife dispersal areas.

Recalling the significance of the property for the presence of several endemic and range-restricted species, the importance of monitoring the impact of the border wall on key species is indeed very important. Noting that data on the Sonoran Pronghorn population has only been made available up until 2020 and that the impacts of the physical barrier on wildlife populations may not be immediately evident, it will be important to closely and continuously monitor the key species, and take an adaptive management approach in response to any significant changes in size and the health of these populations.

Noting the conclusions of the summary of regional impact assessment for the transmission network associated with the photovoltaic power plant Puerto Peñasco, the State Party of Mexico should be requested to take into full consideration the findings of IUCN’s technical review in the determination of the project. The State Party should be requested to implement effective and sustained mitigation measures throughout the construction and operational phases of the project, if approved. These measures should be aligned with the management of the property, and adhere to the highest environmental standards, in addition to considerations for the wider landscape scale impacts of the project to ensure the conservation of the important biodiversity in the wider landscape, which also supports the OUV of the property.