A recent assessment by the Mexican Civil Council for Sustainable Forestry (CCMSS) found that The Yucatan Peninsula lost 285,580 hectares of forest between 2019 and 2023Of these, 5,610 correspond to the Maya Train megaproject.
This condition is particularly reflected in sections 5, 6 and 7 in the states of Quintana Roo and Campeche. Under the technical direction of researcher Edward Ellis, the CCMSS stated that the total number corresponds to 71,000 hectares of forest are cut down every yearas well as Every day, 196 hectares of forest are destroyed.
It also states that the annual loss rate is 0.4 percent, while the national average is 0.1. In this sense, the CCMSS explains that of the three areas that make up the Yucatan Peninsula in the southeast of the country, Campeche is the most damaged. Every year, 29,000 hectares of forest are destroyed.
In relation to the above, Yucatan follows with 27,519 and ends with Quintana Roo with Every year, 14,595 hectares are damaged. In particular, Sergio Madrid, Executive Director of the above-mentioned Council, confirms that the loss rate is very high, with a accelerated pace of destruction.
Campeche: Just over 117,000 hectares damaged
In the last four years, 117,124 hectares of forest have been destroyed in Campeche. This represents an annual loss of 29,281 hectares. In this sense, the municipalities with the highest losses are Holpechén, Carmen, Calakmul and Palizada. In Quintana Roo, on the other hand, the loss in the same period was 58,319 hectares of forest were destroyed, This represents an annual loss of 14,595 hectares of forest. The municipalities most affected include Othón P. Blanco, Bacalar, Cancún and Felipe Carrillo Puerto, the latter in the Mayan zone.
Yucatan has lost thousands of hectares of forest
With regard to the above, In Yucatan, 110,077 hectares of forest were destroyed. This means that 27,519 hectares of forest are lost annually. The municipalities with the highest deforestation are Tizimin, Panabá, Tekax and Sucilá. For this study, the Forest Cover Change Information System (Sicamfor) platform was used. This is a new tool whose diagnosis was developed by Planet NICFI, Collect Earth Online and Google Earth Engine for analyzing, processing and visualizing a significant amount of data.
Important level of security
The researchers explain that SICAMFOR offers a higher level of security, between 5 and 8 times morecompared to platforms such as Global Forest Watch or the Satellite Forest Monitoring System of the National Forestry Commission. They defined that By combining the regional context, scientific contributions and field work, they were able to identify “historical causes” of forest loss.namely: agribusiness, livestock farming, real estate expansion and tourism.
Weakening of institutions
It is also concluded that deforestation in the region is a Consequence of the significant weakening of environmental institutions in Mexico. “During the construction of megaprojects under the direction of federal authorities, the ability of the institutions to assume their responsibilities and ensure compliance with laws and rights was limited,” they said.
It has since been announced that Grupo Xcaret has decided for environmental reasons to abandon the mega tourism development project, This included the construction of nine hotels in the town of Santa Elena, near the archaeological zone in Uxmal.
The deforestation of almost 160 hectares has been stopped With the above-mentioned project The deforestation of almost 160 hectares of jungle in the Mayan area has been stopped. Greenpeace, for its part, stated that the mega-complex could accommodate up to 16,200 guests.
The Yucatan Peninsula lost 285,580 hectares of forest between 2019 and 2023. Of these, 5,610 are due to the major Maya Train project.
This figure is four times the current population of the municipality of Santa Elena. In this sense, this project would require up to 22 times more water per year. This figure, it is said, is the total amount consumed by the municipality of Yucatán.
Position of the Mexican Center for Environmental Law
The Mexican Center for Environmental Law, AC, defines that in Mexico Many of the major projects are planned, approved and located in rural areas, where a significant part of the country’s natural heritage is found. Places where farmers and indigenous communities live.
They are of the opinion due to prevailing social and environmental policies, various violations of collective human rights because respect for human rights, such as autonomy, territory or traditional access to natural resources, is not guaranteed.
Fragmentation of habitats
In relation to the above, they analyzed that the socio-ecological impacts of a major project are not assessed comprehensively and effectively, In addition, the information on which the State bases its impact assessment is inadequate and incomplete, and it tolerates habitat fragmentation – projects that sometimes only undergo review once the project has already been designed and put out to tender.
