Tulum, Quintana Roo — Pollution in Tulum’s cenotes and underground rivers has reached the point where diving is no longer possible at some sites, diving instructor José Urbina, known as “Pepe Tiburón,” has warned.
Urbina, a member of the groups Cenotes Urbanos and Sélvame MX, also reported damage to the Sac Actún cave and cavern system. He did not specify which cenotes can no longer be dived, nor how extensive the damage he described in Sac Actún is.
Guide should come with rules, instructor says
Urbina stressed the importance of the Guide to the Caves and Caverns of the Mexican Caribbean, presented a few days ago, but argued that promoting these sites must go hand in hand with rules governing their recreational use.
He called for regulations on tourism activities in the cenotes, pointing to the deterioration of these bodies of water and the underground systems they connect to.
His warning draws attention to the state of conservation of sites promoted as tourist attractions, a push that coincides with complaints about pollution and damage.
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