Greenpeace Urges Semarnat to Reveal Cemex Tulum Permit Details

Tulum, Quintana Roo — Environmental organization Greenpeace has called on Mexico’s Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) to publicly release the permit authorizing cement company Cemex to extract stone materials in Tulum, Quintana Roo. The demand follows Semarnat’s recent denial of issuing such authorization, which Greenpeace disputes due to the absence of official documentation in government records.

Dispute Over Deforestation Permit

Greenpeace stated that the only available document is a copy of Resolution No. 04/SGA/1532/2024, which approves the first phase of Cemex’s project covering 572,685 square meters. The organization emphasized that this resolution grants the company permission to deforest and use explosives on approximately 650 hectares of virgin jungle near Tulum. The resolution was signed and finalized on January 27, as Greenpeace has repeatedly highlighted.

Last Friday, Semarnat issued a statement clarifying that Cemex was notified on June 27 via official letter 03/ARRN/0820/2025, denying authorization for the Technical Justification Study for Forest Land Use Change. However, the statement was later removed from the agency’s website.

“The least expected from Semarnat is real transparency. If they truly want to protect the Maya Jungle, they must immediately publish the alleged denial,” Greenpeace asserted.

Environmental and Social Risks

The project aims to extract nearly 13 million tons of stone material over 15 years through intensive exploitation, which Greenpeace warns poses severe environmental and social risks. One major concern is the planned use of a road through the Mayan community of Francisco Uh May for constant heavy truck traffic, without prior public consultation.

“The health, community structure, and tranquility of the residents would be directly impacted,” the organization stressed.

The extraction zone is located in a hydrologically fragile area, part of the Ox Bel Ha underground river system—a critical component of the Great Maya Aquifer. This network connects waterways originating in the peninsula and discharging freshwater into the Caribbean.

“Any disruption to this system, such as karst soil fragmentation, explosive use, or land clearing, would endanger the country’s largest groundwater system,” Greenpeace warned.

Calls for Accountability

Greenpeace has urged Semarnat to provide immediate clarity on the legal status of Cemex’s operations, emphasizing the need for transparency to safeguard both ecological integrity and local communities.