Activists Fight Punta Venado Hotel Project Citing Environmental Damage

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — Environmental activists have launched a campaign to stop a luxury hotel project in Punta Venado, on the Riviera Maya, warning that construction would destroy mangrove forests and endanger jaguars, sea turtles and other protected species.

Activists Elías Siebenborn, Guadalupe de la Rosa and José Urbina Bravo said the development — promoted as The Ritz Carlton Residences Riviera Maya and developed by RMLA, Oleum Joint Venture, S. de R.L. de C.V. — has already been listed for sale on an international property website. They are collecting signatures through Change.org and say the project would sit in a biological corridor between two federally protected natural areas. They have gathered more than 4,000 signatures so far.

“They want to build a luxury hotel in Punta Venado. To do that, they are going to clear the jungle, and the animals are going to die,” Siebenborn said. “We are not going to allow it. We found at least 24 protected species, including turtles nesting on that beach right now. It is a biological corridor between two federal protected areas. The Environment Ministry (Semarnat) only partially authorized the project.”

Siebenborn said the development would clear and fill four species of mangrove, contaminating the area. Mangroves filter water flowing into the sea and supply nutrients to seagrass beds and coral reefs where turtles and fish live. Their destruction would increase coastal erosion and remove a natural barrier against hurricanes, he said.

The reef area serves as a fish nursery and habitat for migratory birds. Mangroves store up to five times more carbon than forests and grow along the coastline, making them an effective natural defense against global warming, Siebenborn added.

He also said the developer plans to place pilings in cenotes, which could lead to contamination. “Iron and cement cause pollution through spills and corrosion. The released substances go directly into the sea, the reef lagoon and the reef, where they cause the most damage,” he said.

The project would further fragment the biological corridor, isolating endangered species, and degrade and privatize beaches, cutting off ecotourism activities for local residents.

De la Rosa called on the public to join the defense of natural resources. “They are finishing off the little nature that remains in the Riviera Maya. Tourists do not come to look at concrete blocks; they come to enjoy nature,” she said.

Urbina Bravo lamented the state of Quintana Roo, citing reports of wastewater contamination in cenotes from poor waste management and widespread environmental degradation. “The rapid tourism development without infrastructure has caused ecological damage and has devalued the destination by burying its natural resources,” he said. “And we are still seeing the destination being massified with all-inclusive resorts.”

The activists said they are continuing to gather signatures on Change.org and are accepting donations to cover legal costs in the case.