Unplanned Developments and Poaching Threaten Wildlife in Quintana Roo

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — Unplanned real estate developments, a lack of environmental impact studies, and poaching are pushing wildlife toward extinction in the Riviera Maya, according to environmental activists.

José Urbina Bravo, a cave diver and member of the groups Cenotes Urbanos and Sélvame Mx, said that despite existing environmental protection laws, wildlife is increasingly vulnerable. He pointed to forest fragmentation caused by new roads and construction that lack proper environmental assessments.

“The human being is killing wildlife at an accelerated pace, destroying the jungle, opening roads without environmental impact studies,” Urbina Bravo said. He singled out the El Tintal highway as a particular danger, calling it a “road of death” for animals trying to cross.

Urbina Bravo noted that roadkill has increased not only for iconic species like ocelots and jaguars but also for many others, including anteaters. “We have noticed an increase, for example, of anteaters, which are precious animals but lose their lives trying to cross the road of death,” he said.

He added that monitoring cameras show a decline in the presence of certain protected species, suggesting they are being driven away by the proliferation of roads through the jungle.

In addition to construction and roadkill, poachers are also a threat. “People arrive with their pets and want to kill the species. This is regrettable,” Urbina Bravo said.

He also warned about cenote pollution, which affects the water that animals drink. “The water is becoming contaminated, and the animals come and drink, possibly dying somewhere in the jungle without us realizing it. They are silent victims of this contamination,” he said.

Guadalupe de la Rosa, a member of the civil association Yax-Cuxtal, said that respect for nature has been lost, and that investors and the government prioritize money over protecting the future of humanity.

“We have lost values. Every day the devastation of the jungle and the extinction of wildlife habitats is evident. We are destroying the main natural attractions of this paradise, which are a jewel, but due to ecological damage, the paradise is being devalued,” de la Rosa said.

Urbina Bravo called for repairing past damage by improving existing roads instead of expanding into the jungle. “Otherwise, the killing of wildlife will increase, and with these actions, instead of improving, we are killing the paradise we chose to live in,” he said.