Environmentalists Oppose Calica Tourism Project

Playa del Carmen, Mexico — The environmental group Sélvame del Tren has rejected a proposal by President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo to develop a tourism project on the grounds of Calica, a former stone extraction site. Instead, the group advocates for the area to be dedicated exclusively to environmental recovery after decades of material extraction.

José Urbina Bravo, founder of Sélvame del Tren, stated his opposition to the president's proposal to convert the space into a tourist attraction. Urbina proposed that the site should, at the very least, be developed into a center for academic study rather than another tourist destination in a region already saturated with them.

“We would like to see a zone for the restoration of the jungle and the reefs, a university for oceanography, for marine biology, where corals can be reproduced, where a refuge for turtles can be created. There is so much that can be done in favor of the environment, a true alliance to defend the environment and not continue exploiting natural resources,” Urbina Bravo stated.

Last week, President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo reiterated that a return to stone material extraction at Calica is not an option and confirmed that the government is negotiating the start of a tourism project at the location. Should an agreement not be reached between the Mexican government and Vulcan Materials Company, the owner of Calica, the final decision will rest with an international panel, the president said.

A dispute is currently being adjudicated at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), through which the company is seeking more than $1.5 billion from the Mexican government for the closures.

Urbina Bravo argued that the future of Calica must align with the nature of the Felipe Carrillo Puerto Flora and Fauna Conservation Area, which definitively halted the extraction of stone material.

“Clearly, the Riviera Maya does not need more hotel rooms, it does not need more tourist traffic, it does not need cruise ships; we already have enough. We have enough damage from those who are arriving both to live and to visit us. We need to stop and invest in repairing the mistakes of the past,” he said.