Yucatán Faces Environmental Pressure From Real Estate Boom, Pig Farms, and Deforestation; Launches ‘Herencia Maya’ Project

Mérida, Yucatán — Facing rapid real estate development, environmental conflicts over pig farms, and advancing deforestation, the Yucatán government has launched “Herencia Maya,” a financing program aimed at protecting more than 581,000 hectares of the state’s territory and bolstering conservation of mangroves, cenotes, forests, and nature reserves.

The project includes an initial $5.5 million from private donors and international organizations, which the state government, Mérida city council, and allied organizations will match. The goal is to mobilize over $20 million over the next five years to fund environmental monitoring, firefighting brigades, ecological restoration, and surveillance in 11 protected natural areas.

During the presentation, Yucatán’s Sustainable Development Secretary, Neira Silva Rosado, publicly acknowledged that rapid and disorderly real estate growth is already causing visible impacts on the state’s water and ecosystems.

“We already have problems with water. There are areas where there is scarcity because we can’t extract enough water,” she admitted, noting that urban growth and large housing developments have exceeded infrastructure capacity.

Silva Rosado also linked mangrove deterioration to real estate expansion and speculation on coastal land. She acknowledged that authorities often arrive late to areas where illegal clearing or logging has already occurred due to a lack of permanent surveillance.

The environmental situation comes as the Forest Cover Change Information System estimated a loss of 180,967 hectares of forest cover in Yucatán between 2016 and 2025. One of the hardest-hit municipalities was Tizimín, which lost a net 3,374 hectares, mainly due to agro-industrial and livestock expansion.

Another red flag raised during the event was the pig farming industry. Earlier this month, the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (Profepa) confirmed the complete removal of 41,570 pigs from the Santa María farm, operated by Pecuaria Peninsular in Santa María Chi, following a definitive closure order for environmental violations and irregular wastewater discharges. The company also received a fine of over 18.6 million pesos.

Silva Rosado acknowledged that only one pig farm has been permanently closed in Yucatán so far, but said other environmental review and regularization processes are ongoing.

Meanwhile, environmentalists warned of growing pressure on mangroves and cenotes — ecosystems considered strategic for hurricane protection, biodiversity conservation, and the peninsula’s water supply.

Mérida Mayor Cecilia Patrón Laviada noted that the Kúxtal ecological reserve, which supplies about 50% of the capital’s water, faces constant illegal clearing and construction.

María José Villanueva Noriega, director of WWF Mexico, warned that many mangroves are not disappearing solely due to direct logging, but because of alterations in natural water flows caused by roads, infrastructure, and urban development.

“Often the mangrove dies because those flows are blocked by road and house construction,” she explained.

The Herencia Maya program aims to fund permanent conservation actions along more than 275 kilometers of coastline and over 54,000 hectares of mangroves, as well as reinforce strategic areas such as the Ring of Cenotes and the Puuc Biocultural Reserve.

Private companies including Bepensa and The Coca-Cola Foundation are participating, contributing more than $2 million to the environmental fund. Their representatives said that conserving Yucatán’s water and ecological system is also strategic for the region’s business and productive sectors.