Complaint Filed With PROFEPA Over Mangrove Clearing at Isla Mujeres Residential Project

Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo — A citizen has filed a complaint with Mexico’s Federal Environmental Protection Agency (PROFEPA) alleging the destruction of protected mangroves and attempts to intimidate local residents at a construction site in the Sac Bajo area of Isla Mujeres.

The complaint, logged under case number C-009-26, states that land clearing and landfill work are being carried out over mangrove vegetation on the property without any publicly documented authorization covering the activity.

Project Approved in 2024

The site named in the complaint is earmarked for the “Residencias Marietta” project in Sac Bajo. Its change of urban planning parameters was approved during the 47th extraordinary session of the municipal council on September 13, 2024, and published in the state’s Official Gazette on November 29 of that year.

Page 75 of the environmental filing for “Construction and Operation of Residencias Marietta – Isla Mujeres,” submitted by developer Kellman Desarrollos S.A. de C.V., sets a total budget of 500,000 pesos for mitigation measures. That figure is broken down into 100,000 pesos for site preparation, 150,000 pesos for flora rescue, 50,000 pesos for fauna rescue and 200,000 pesos for environmental supervision across 36 months of construction.

What the Images Show

Photographs and video provided by the complainant show the property already cleared, with soil removed, heavy machinery tracks, remnants of uprooted vegetation and mounds of sascab, a crushed limestone material used as fill, spread over the wetland.

A yellow backhoe and a dump truck are visible inside the grounds, along with a platform of compacted sascab laid over the cleared area. Standing mangrove vegetation can still be seen at the rear and along the edges of the property, highlighting the contrast between the intervened zone and the untouched land.

The site is surrounded by green and yellow mesh fencing, which the complaint says blocks the view from outside.

Neighbors Say No Wildlife Was Relocated

Residents of Sac Bajo say they never saw anyone relocate trees or wild animals from the area, even though the project itself sets aside funds for flora and fauna rescue. According to witnesses, workers brought in the machinery and disregarded the mangrove, which they described as one of the ecosystems that supports the most life.

In a video circulating on social media, a person walks through the already cleared area while the individual recording says they were confronted by someone who argued the land was private property.

Filming from outside the perimeter fence, the resident describes the mesh barriers as a way of preventing the work inside from being documented.

No inspection, closure order or ruling by the federal authority has been publicly announced so far.