Semarnat Approves Xcaret Park Works, Requires Indigenous Consultation

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — Mexico’s Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) on Friday conditionally authorized Promotora Xcaret to build, operate and maintain a range of structures inside its popular eco-archaeological park, subject to a mandatory consultation with indigenous communities.

The project, called Areas de Esparcimiento y Servicios (Recreation and Service Areas), was submitted to Semarnat’s General Directorate of Environmental Impact and Risk on July 29, 2021. It includes a restaurant, terraces, a boat ramp for small vessels, internal roadways and a parking lot across a 2.4-hectare site, of which about 10,434 square meters will be developed. The investment is estimated at 70 million pesos.

In the resolution published Friday, Semarnat highlighted the consultation requirement, which responds to two recommendations from the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH). The move also comes after a Supreme Court ruling sparked controversy over the use of Maya symbolism. The developer must coordinate with the National Institute of Indigenous Peoples (INPI) to carry out the consultation and submit documentation confirming the project was presented to representatives of indigenous communities.

The requirement is based on Articles 1 and 2 of Mexico’s Constitution, Articles 6 and 7 of International Labour Organization Convention 169, and CNDH recommendations 37/2012 and 56/2012, which hold that indigenous communities must be consulted before any work is carried out on lands that could affect their interests and rights.

According to the resolution, the project lies within the municipality of Solidaridad, now Playa del Carmen, and falls under INPI’s 2020 classification of localities A and B. That classification means the project could potentially affect the interests and rights of indigenous communities in the area. As a result, the developer must consult INPI before any work begins, and must secure the free, prior and informed consent of the communities.

Semarnat also imposed additional environmental conditions on Promotora Xcaret. The permit grants 10 years to complete the works and 70 years for operation.