Mexico’s Environment Ministry Blocks Mayakoba North Tourism Project Over Environmental Damage

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — Mexico’s Environment and Natural Resources Ministry (Semarnat) has rejected the Mayakoba North tourism development project, declaring it environmentally unviable after finding developers had already begun construction without proper permits.

The project promoter, Islas de Mayakoba S.A. de C.V., submitted a unified land-use change application in December 2021 for forested areas. However, the ministry’s investigation revealed that construction had already started without the required environmental impact authorization, prompting administrative proceedings by Mexico’s environmental protection agency.

According to the ministry’s technical evaluation, the company violated Mexico’s General Ecological Balance Law by beginning work before conducting mandatory environmental assessments. “The environmental regulation requires analyzing impacts first and then authorizing projects. Here it happened the opposite way,” officials stated.

What the Project Involved

The development sought to legalize nearly three-quarters of a hectare of land-use changes from already-completed construction, including rustic walkways, a bar, fixed kitchen facilities, pergolas, and other installations. The project also aimed to expand into a residential complex, beach club, and connecting roads in later phases.

Technical evaluations identified potential impacts on protected species including the white-fronted parrot, brown-throated parakeet, porcupine, anteater, Mojina mountain turtle, and swamp crocodile. The area also contains mangrove forests and other wild flora species, with insufficient studies to rule out environmental impacts.

Authorities noted the absence of cumulative and synergistic impact analyses for the region, a critical concern in an area where decades of tourism development have transformed wetlands and coastal ecosystems. The ministry determined the project could violate specific mangrove and coastal ecosystem protection regulations.

“The project may be contravening provisions regarding significant impacts on coastal wetland ecosystems with mangrove presence, coastal dune ecosystems, sandy beaches, and marine environments,” the ministry’s resolution stated. “Not only through vegetation removal that would fragment habitat for 13 fauna species but also for 7 flora species distributed in this already-impacted ecosystem.”

Based on these findings, Semarnat denied the Mayakoba North project application and closed the case file.