Puerto Aventuras Experiencing an Environmental Disaster, Activists Warn
An artificial beach that has been built without authorization from the Municipality of Solidaridad is cutting off the current that cleans the bay.
PUERTO AVENTURAS – An artificial beach, concrete reefs and a jetty were built in Puerto Aventuras without authorization from the Solidaridad City Council, generating an impact on the ecosystem and an environmental disaster, environmentalists claim.
Gerardo Solis Barreto, environmental lawyer, filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Quintana Roo (CDQROO) for the omissions of federal delegations such as the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (PROFEPA) and the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT).
In his complaint, Solis Barreto states that this is a violation of the rights of the inhabitants of Puerto Aventuras.
“They are building a road into the sea with heavy machinery,” he said. “For this work, construction material was apparently poured into the water, creating a kind of lagoon, where several tons of sargassum have accumulated.”
Artificial beach in Puerto Aventuras kills seagrasses.
“With this work the flow of the current that cleans the Bay is cut off. It goes without saying that it is carried out without any environmental safety measures and there is a lot of floating sediment, which ends up going to the bottom of the sea, killing the seagrasses, ” explained the activist.
The sediment is also reaching the coral reef off the coast, which is part of the Mesoamerican Reef System.
“It does not go unnoticed that the geography of this state is a turtle nesting area. Because of these constructions, the turtles are prevented from reaching the beach to spawn, which also puts said species, an animal that is protected by Mexican legislation, at risk for years,” stated the lawyer in his complaint.
He affirms that the residents of the town have already filed complaints with Profepa, Semarnat and the state government itself, but they have not been attended to.
“In Quintana Roo, there are many people who also take advantage of the Pandemic to carry out these kinds of acts, which I have been repeatedly denouncing, given the insufficient vigilance of the authorities,” he added.
Source: SIPSE