Mexico Shuts Down Illegal Mangrove Destruction Sites

Chicxulub Puerto, Mexico — The Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (Profepa) has implemented a temporary total closure as a security measure against two properties in Chicxulub Puerto, a community within Puerto Progreso. The action was taken after the agency detected landfilling and the elimination of mangrove vegetation on areas of 301 square meters and 136 square meters, respectively.

The loss of this mangrove vegetation adds to the existing problem in Yucatán, where at least 23,000 square meters of this type of dune terrain on federal coastal lands in the state have been devastated, according to reports from the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat).

In a statement, the agency reported that during inspection visits carried out on September 30, it confirmed that vegetation had been removed from both sites and the areas had been filled with stony material. These activities lack the corresponding environmental impact authorization from Semarnat.

Faced with this situation, closure seals were placed, ordering the immediate cessation of all activity as a security measure to protect the affected ecosystems.

Mangroves are fundamental ecosystems for the coastal zone, serving as a natural barrier against storms and hurricanes, in addition to being a refuge and breeding ground for multiple species of flora and fauna. Their filling and desiccation cause a serious ecological imbalance and put both biodiversity and the security of human communities at risk.

In recent years, Profepa and other environmental authorities have applied sanctions and closures in the area, responding to citizen complaints and technical reports that warn of the environmental and social damage these practices cause.

In March of this year, the head of Semarnat, Alicia Bárcena Ibarra, reported that approximately 150,000 hectares of mangrove zones—15 percent—have been lost in Mexico, with the country having an approximate total of one million hectares of this type of dune.

When interviewed during the kick-off for mangrove reforestation in Yucatán, the official did not specify the period of time over which this quantity of mangroves has been lost nationally, "but I can tell you that Mexico, in general, is in third place for possession of manglares, so that interests us."

Regarding the problem in Yucatán, Bárcena Ibarra reported that 23,000 square meters of mangrove terrain on federal lands in the state's coastal zone have been devastated.

On this issue, in July of last year, federal and state authorities from Profepa carried out an operation in the municipality of San Felipe, in eastern Yucatán—the native region of the current governor of Yucatán, Joaquín Díaz Mena—where they detected logging, clearing, and irregular human settlements in more than 20 hectares of mangroves, areas considered protected habitat within the state's ecosystems.