Playa del Carmen Cracks Down on Cenote Destruction

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico — The Committee for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Caverns, Caves, and Cenotes is establishing mechanisms to sanction construction companies that fail to report the discovery of these subterranean structures and proceed to fill them in, a practice that has occurred historically in Playa del Carmen.

City Councilman Fernando Muñoz Calero, president of the Commission for Ecology, Environment, and Animal Protection, reported that through adjustments to local regulations, the aim is to obtain more precise information on the discovery of caves, cenotes, and caverns to guarantee their preservation.

Muñoz recalled that the committee's establishment this year had the precise purpose of improving environmental management compared to past practices. He stated the committee will be a support to curb the practice of real estate developers who fill in bodies of water or caverns.

The declaration was made in reference to a case denounced by the scientific collective Cenotes Urbanos, which entered "The Spot," a cenote of crystalline water discovered during drainage drilling work in the vicinity of the La Guadalupana subdivision.

The councilman emphasized that it is necessary to work not only with developers but also with citizens so they report if they detect a cenote being filled in. He warned that in such cases, sanctions will be applied to those responsible.