Uxuxubi Seeks Tourism Distinction, Asks for Water Tests at Its Cenotes

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — The Uxuxubi community has applied for Mexico’s Presidential Distinction for Community Tourism and is asking authorities to monitor the water quality of the cenotes (natural sinkholes) and lagoons it wants to open to visitors.

Miguel Ángel Pani Can, a community member and promoter of the initiative, said the goal is to strengthen tourism through partnerships that also help conserve the environment. He made the case during a presentation to the committee for the conservation and sustainable management of caverns, grottoes and cenotes in Playa del Carmen.

Pani Can said the community’s territory covers more than 2,000 hectares. He invited committee members to carry out studies at sites including Laguna de los Cocodrilos and Cenote Balam to determine whether the water meets the conditions needed for the activities offered to visitors. No results from water analyses were presented at the meeting.

He said the community wants to develop four main bodies of water for tourism and that the requested monitoring would provide information on their current condition.

Tourism corridor linking Maya communities

Uxuxubi is part of “Kilich Kab (Mundo Sagrado),” or Sacred World, a community tourism corridor project that aims to link Maya communities between Playa del Carmen and Lázaro Cárdenas. Pani Can said the aim is to reach agreements with organizations that combine conservation of natural resources with economic opportunities for residents.

He also flagged risks linked to deforestation and logging, along with changes he has observed in local wildlife behavior. He mentioned animals known locally as tejones, or coatis, getting into apiaries — something he said they had not seen before — though he did not present studies on the causes.