For the seventh time, the organization Environmental Defense Fund Mexico (EDF) implemented the Voceros del Mar program, which in this last edition promoted five community projects in Baja California Sur with the objective of restoring and protecting coastal ecosystems.
The issues addressed by the projects ranged from defending access to beaches to protecting critical habitats for endemic species of the entity and were presented this February 12 during a cocktail party in the city of La Paz.
The five projects supported community land defense processes, four have already been carried out and one more is about to be carried out; some of the projects will be repeated in 2026.
A different generation
EDF, with the support of the consultancy firm Specialists in Society, Development and Environment (ESODEMA), designed the initiative “Spokesmen of the Sea: Stories that Connect”, which seeks to strengthen the leadership and communication skills of coastal communities to increase their participation in decision-making about the use of their natural environment and to motivate the adoption of sustainable practices.
“The idea is to strengthen the voices of communities so that they have these communication skills and can stand in front of a decision maker, another person in the community, a person who is interviewing them and expressing their message,” said Silvia Yee, director of fishing initiatives at EDF.
He added that, although the program was very focused on the coastal fishing sector, each year it has had different themes such as climate change, specific fisheries and sustainable fishing, but this has changed according to the needs that exist in the communities.
This seventh generation was different because it was held in Baja California Sur for the first time. In the past it has been held in Sonora, Sinaloa, Baja California or Yucatán. But it also differentiated because EDF Mexico accompanied those who made up the cohort to develop and implement a project for one year, according to Yee.
“One of the ideas with this generation was to look for people who already had some leadership, but who have also developed or are developing certain initiatives or certain projects,” he explained.
The program this year consisted of bringing together 15 people from six coastal towns (El Datile, Boca del Álamo, Luis Echeverría, El Manglito, El Sargento-La Ventana and La Ribera) who showed interest and concern for their natural environment. The attendees participated in two leadership and communication workshops, where they developed socio-environmental projects that they would apply in their respective communities.
“The promise or commitment of people at the end of the training is to carry out their project and on our part, we are going to provide them with support and support, all with the objective of putting into practice the skills they acquired,” Yee said.
The projects
At the end of 2025, four projects designed by the Spokespersons were carried out, and a fifth is due to be carried out in the month of March.
The projects that have already been carried out were the “Stories of Hot Water” contest in El Sargento, organized by Engracia Yee, Xóchitl Nolasco and Joaquín León, whose award was held within the framework of the community's traditional festivities.
This project came about as a result of the loss of access to the beach that afflicts the community, particularly Agua Caliente Beach, where a company blocked access because it wanted to build a real estate project.
“The program helped us to take our ideas to something physical so that more people would join the fight for our land and beaches. We can't let them take them away from us,” said Engracia Yee, part of the El Sargento community.
The second project that was carried out was the installation of a local handicraft stand at a point of sale and the cleaning of the beach in the Luis Echeverría ejido, municipality of Mulegé, organized by the Balejimajawi collective formed by Irazema Figueroa, Beatriz Cortez, Guadalupe Maciel and Michelle Gallegos.
Another project was a day of environmental awareness and beach cleaning, organized by the United Women of El Datile, made up of Esmeralda Álvarez, Rocío López and Minerva Carrillo; and the Peninsular Mask Festival in La Ribera, organized by the collective Women of Action and Resilience, made up of Reina Macklis, Sofía Pérez and Rosalva Sifuentes.
Finally, the project that is about to be carried out is the Tortuhuellitas Festival, an event dedicated to the conservation of sea turtles organized by Vanessa Lucero, Andrés Lucero and Selmira Lucero, which will take place on March 6 from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., on Boca del Álamo beach with educational talks, workshops and the sale of regional products.
“One of the proudest things about this type of program is knowing that you enable these conditions so that people can flourish, thrive. We don't create anything, but we start from what already exists and we accompany it. We are very proud of what the spokeswomen have achieved and we have high expectations of what is coming for them in their various initiatives,” said Silvia Yee.
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