Mexican Environmental Agency Shuts Down Five Properties for Illegal Land Use in Southeast

Playa del Carmen, Mexico — Mexico’s Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (Profepa) closed five properties for illegal land use in the southeastern states of Quintana Roo, Yucatán, and Campeche during a nationwide operation last month, the agency announced in its monthly activity report.

The operation, conducted from January 28 to 30 in critical zones across 28 states, targeted illegal logging, unauthorized land use changes, and illicit transport of forest products.

In Quintana Roo, authorities closed five properties in the municipalities of Playa del Carmen and Felipe Carrillo Puerto. The affected sites include:

• Playa Paraíso, where 21.6 square meters of medium semi-evergreen rainforest vegetation were damaged.
• Two properties in Nuevo Durango–Cobá, with damages of 1,050 square meters and 460 square meters.
• Ejido Felipe Carrillo Puerto, where 2.9 hectares of medium semi-evergreen rainforest were affected.
• Ejido X-Hazil, with 1.4 hectares of the same vegetation type damaged.

In Yucatán, officials closed two properties in Valladolid, Tekax, and Progreso for unauthorized land use changes. These include a stone material bank affecting 4.114 hectares at the “Sascabera los Fernández” property and a 15.5-hectare area of medium semi-deciduous rainforest in Ejido Mesatunich, where vegetation was cleared for agricultural activities.

In Campeche, authorities closed a Storage and Transformation Center (CAT) in Escárcega for failing to prove the legal origin of the forest products it commercialized.

The operation involved 464 personnel from various agencies, including the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (Conanp), municipal ecology departments, the Mexican Army, National Guard, Mexican Navy, Federal Prosecutor’s Office, and state and municipal police.

During the deployment, officials established 25 transportation checkpoints, conducted 16 surveillance tours, and carried out 38 forestry inspections at sawmills and properties with illegal land use changes.

The operation resulted in 25 closures: 8 at Storage and Transformation Centers for Forest Raw Materials (CAT) and 17 at properties with illegal land use changes on forest lands. Authorities also seized 394.95 cubic meters of wood, 1,202.4 kilograms of charcoal, 2,800 kilograms of agave pineapples, 5 pieces of machinery, and 12 vehicles.

“This year we are strengthening our operations in critical forest zones. Protecting forests is a priority task, and to accomplish it we act in coordination with authorities at all three levels of government. Impunity for those who destroy our forest ecosystems is over,” said Mariana Boy Tamborrell, federal attorney for environmental protection.