Mexico Shuts Down Coastal Dune Works in Chabihau Over Destruction of Protected Vegetation

Chabihau, Yucatán — Mexico’s federal environmental enforcement agency has ordered a total, temporary shutdown of construction work on a coastal plot in Chabihau, a village in the municipality of Yobaín, after inspectors found that heavy machinery had stripped protected vegetation and damaged the coastal dune.

The Federal Attorney’s Office for Environmental Protection (Profepa) said it acted after photographs and complaints about heavy machinery operating along the shoreline circulated on social media.

During an inspection on Sept. 9, Profepa personnel documented damage across 69,284 square meters of land where crews had cut, felled, cleared and removed forest vegetation, the agency said.

Among the affected species were wild cotton (Gossypium hirsutum), which is subject to special protection, and button mangrove (Conocarpus erectus), classified as threatened.

Inspectors also recorded the presence of a black spiny-tailed iguana (Ctenosaura similis), another threatened species. All the flora and fauna identified at the site are protected under the Mexican standard NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010.

Profepa said no environmental impact authorization, permit, license or exemption issued by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) was presented during the visit.

Citing the violations, the agency ordered the total temporary closure of the works and activities, placed official seals on the site and ordered the work to stop immediately.

The activities in the coastal wetland ecosystem also violate NOM-022-SEMARNAT-2003, which governs the use of mangroves and coastal wetlands, Profepa said.

Inspectors did not find anyone responsible for the work at the site, so subsequent notifications in the case will be posted on the legal notice board at Profepa’s Yucatán office.

The closure came days after residents of Chabihau publicly complained about heavy machinery digging in the area and allegedly hauling sand away from the dunes, raising concerns about damage to the coastal ecosystem.