Calakmul, Campeche — UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage has expressed concern over what it considers an insufficient evaluation of the impact of the Maya Train’s Section 7, the Visitor Center (Catvi), and the Mundo Maya Hotel on the Ancient Maya City and Protected Tropical Forests of Calakmul.
In a draft decision presented during the committee’s 48th session in Busan, South Korea, UNESCO noted that Section 7 and associated infrastructure were completed and have been operational since December 2024 without an integrated impact assessment submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by advisory bodies prior to execution. The assessment should have focused on the site’s Outstanding Universal Value (OUV).
“This is particularly concerning given that the committee has repeatedly requested information and evaluations capable of addressing the direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of these projects on the property, its buffer zone, and its wider setting,” the draft decision stated.
“Although mitigation and monitoring programs exist for the Maya Train (Section 7), the Catvi, and the Hotel Mundo Maya Calakmul, the lack of comprehensive pre-construction information still makes it difficult to confirm whether potential impacts on the OUV have been fully identified and whether the measures implemented are sufficient to avoid, reduce, or compensate long-term effects.”
In a statement to the committee released Friday by Mexico’s National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (Conanp), the Mexican government expressed regret that the conclusions of a Reactive Monitoring Mission conducted in Calakmul in September 2025 were not available in time for the draft decision.
“The State Party deeply regrets that the draft decision was prepared without the mission’s conclusions, despite considerable efforts by all parties involved,” the government said. “Furthermore, the State Party notes that this draft decision was communicated only a few days before its examination by the committee.”
Mexico emphasized the need to consider progress made and ongoing conservation measures for the site’s OUV, highlighting efforts under national law to strengthen protection, management, and conservation, as well as positive actions implemented for its benefit.
Calakmul was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2002.
