Holbox Fire Sparks Call for 20-Year Ban on Land Use

Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexico — Civil and environmental organizations have demanded that federal, state, municipal, and agrarian authorities investigate the causes of a fire that consumed more than 670 hectares of jungle on Holbox Island and apply sanctions, in addition to imposing a 20-year ban on the affected zone.

The affected area, known as Punta Mosquito and La Ensenada, is located within the Yum Balam Flora and Fauna Protection Area.

In a joint statement, the collectives warned that there are indications the fire may have been deliberately set. They urgently called for an investigation and for exemplary sanctions to be applied following the large-scale disaster that occurred on August 22 northwest of the island.

The flames remained active for nine days and were extinguished in early September, leaving a devastated surface area equivalent to Mexico City's Chapultepec Forest.

At the time, Quintana Roo's Civil Protection agency highlighted that this was the state's only forest fire outside of the typical season in 2025.

The Mexican Center for Environmental Law (CEMDA), Grupo Ecológico del Mayab, Grupo Tortuguero del Caribe, Amigos de Sian Ka'an, Centinelas del Agua, and Casa Wayuu, among other groups, stated that this event must not go unpunished.

They recalled that Article 420 Bis of the Federal Penal Code severely sanctions those who cause fires in forests, jungles, or Protected Natural Areas.

Consequently, they demanded that technical expert reports be conducted to determine the origin of the fire, its trajectory, and the damages caused to wetlands and mangroves.

The main request is for the decree of the 20-year ban contemplated by law for the burned lands, with the objective of preventing any attempt to change land use until natural regeneration is proven.

Furthermore, they requested that the ban be registered in the National Forest Registry and coordinated with the Public Property Registries and agrarian authorities, in order to establish preventive annotations that halt irregular procedures and real estate speculation.

The groups also asked that the burned polygon be notified to agencies such as SEMARNAT, CONAGUA, PROFEPA, the Quintana Roo Secretariat of the Environment, and the Lázaro Cárdenas municipal government, so that no institution issues permits, licenses, or concessions in the affected area, in accordance with the management program of the Yum Balam Protected Natural Area.

The demands include implementing a scheme of permanent surveillance with operations by land, sea, and air, as well as a campaign for the prevention of forest fires, accompanied by official maps and precise coordinates of the impacted area.

The collectives emphasized the severity of the environmental damages caused, as the fire fragmented the ecosystem, displaced fauna, and destroyed habitats of endangered species.

Furthermore, mangroves that act as natural barriers against coastal erosion and as reservoirs of blue carbon were lost; their burning releases large quantities of carbon dioxide.

Shrublands and nesting zones for shorebirds and coastal birds were also affected, in addition to compromising the habitat of emblematic species such as the jaguar, tapir, manatee, and several species of sea turtles.

Particular concern was raised over the damage to La Ensenada, considered the most important hawksbill turtle nesting beach in Quintana Roo, with an annual average of 1,269 nests over the last five years and a positive reproductive trend in the Caribbean.

The environmentalists warned that the degradation of this zone would have irreversible consequences for the conservation of the species.