Quintana Roo Signs Co-Management Deal to Protect Xcacel-Xcacelito Turtle Sanctuary

Tulum, Quintana Roo — State environmental agencies and the Autonomous University of Quintana Roo have signed a co-management agreement to strengthen the administration and protection of university-owned land that contains the Xcacel-Xcacelito Natural Protected Area and its sea turtle sanctuary.

The agreement was signed by the Quintana Roo Institute of Biodiversity and Protected Natural Areas (IBANQROO), the state Environment and Ecology Department (SEMA), the Autonomous University of Quintana Roo (UQROO) and the university’s board of trustees. It establishes coordination mechanisms for the environmental management of the properties, including the Xcacel-Xcacelito Sea Turtle Sanctuary, with the goal of preserving their role in conservation, research and environmental education.

Javier Alberto Carballar Osorio, IBANQROO’s director general, said the agreement will strengthen enforcement of the site’s Management Program as well as surveillance and protection efforts along the coastal and inland strip where sea turtles nest.

Under the plan, UQROO faculty, students and researchers will take part in biological monitoring projects, professional internships and conservation work, linking scientific research directly to protection of the natural area.

The agreement also sets up an interinstitutional coordination framework intended to provide certainty over land use and ensure the properties remain dedicated to conservation, research and environmental education.

Representatives of SEFIPLAN, the state finance and planning department, the sub-council for management of the Xcacel-Xcacelito Sea Turtle Sanctuary, and the nonprofit Flora, Fauna y Cultura de México A.C. attended the signing and witnessed the accord between the state agencies and the university.