Environmentalists Warn Tulum Jungle Road Could Open Door to Real Estate Expansion

Tulum, Quintana Roo — Local environmentalists are warning that a road opened near the Jacinto Pat ejido could clear the way for real estate expansion into a jungle area of Tulum, raising concerns about damage to the natural environment and to Quintana Roo’s aquifer.

Guillermo DCristy, a member of Cenotes Urbanos and president of Selvame MX, said the road’s construction was reported to authorities more than a year ago. After the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (Profepa) intervened, officials ordered the work shut down, he said. But the building continued, prompting the groups to file new complaints with federal agencies.

Social media pitches land as investment

Videos circulating on social media present the area as an investment opportunity and highlight the road as a way to reach the properties. Environmentalists say that infrastructure could speed the arrival of new projects and encourage speculation in the land.

The activist said the response received by those who filed the complaints appears to indicate that a waiver exists for the construction work. That, he said, raises questions about the conditions under which the road was allowed to be built.

DCristy also questioned claims that the road is meant to make it easier to transport farm goods, saying no agricultural activity exists in the area that would justify it. In his account, the project is tied to a political commitment the previous state administration made to residents of the ejido.

Concern for Sac Actun cave system

Beyond the road itself, DCristy said the sale of land poses a risk because the area could be progressively taken over by tourism and housing developments. That process could fragment natural spaces, disrupt wildlife movement and reduce the conditions protected species need to survive, he said.

The activist added that the concern extends to the Sac Actun underground cave system because of the aquifer’s vulnerability to human activity. The Yucatan Peninsula’s karst soil allows contaminants to seep in easily, he said, especially when construction lacks drainage or adequate wastewater treatment.

DCristy said the environmental groups will keep tracking the case by gathering information and filing new complaints with the relevant authorities. He argued that officials must review the legal and environmental conditions of the road and monitor the projects announced for this part of Tulum.

Without oversight, he warned, real estate expansion could move forward with lasting consequences for the jungle and underground water systems, whose conservation is essential to the environmental balance of Quintana Roo.