Save Eco Destinations

Restricted Area: Marine Turtles' Nesting Ground

As you might have expected, not much has changed since I last posted about the ecocide alert by the Grupo Posadas at Xcacel-Xcacelito. Essentially, the turtles are going down.

The Grupo Posadas claims to have acquired the necessary permits to build in the area, and also claims that the development will not go on in it but subjacent to it, and that consequently the development will not harm the Xcacel-Xcacelito ecosystem. Yeah–tell that to the turtles.

Anyway, the Mexican environmental and urban development authorities, in turn, claim the Grupo Posadas is pulling this information out of their ass. They said that they have not been involved in the procuring of any permits for these corporate hypocrites, and that no building permits are in the works for the area either. Further, they said that any legal complaint must go to Tulum, as the area is out of their jurisdiction. Huh?

And so, the Grupo Posadas goes on destroying the endangered turtles’ nesting ground and national reserve area and is getting away with it scot-free. Environmentalists can do nothing but roll around in their own frustration, as nobody else seems to care, or at least not enough to do something tangibly useful. The Mexican government, meanwhile, washes its filthy hands in the blood of endangered species plus air, water, and noise pollution.

Maybe they’ll care many years from now, once the country’s popular tourist spots turn murky and putrid, resorts shut down, and locals become the regular victims of cancer and other deadly ailments brought about by humans’ greed and stupidity. Maybe they’ll care–once it’s too late.

Where Aldea Zamná would be.

First known as Downtown Tulum and now as Aldea Zamná, a.k.a. Aldea Zamá and Zamá Village, this lot of 74 hectares (183 acres) would, if we let it, become a residential and commercial area “offering comfort, peace and safety in harmony with nature.” I bet.

(See our post from last year, “Save Tulum, Mexico”)

It’s been a controversial issue since its inception back around July of last year, both before and after the investors acquired authorization to build their development from the government. But, hey, we know it ain’t hard to get authorization in Mexico. It’s about as easy as finding scantily clad women at the beach. I’ve really had it up to my ears with corruption in Latin America. It’s such an old issue it’s not even remotely entertaining anymore. It just makes people bitter. Oh, so bitter.

Current guilty parties include Victor Mass Tah, Gonzalo Arcila, and businessman Rodolfo Rosas Moya representing the awesome investors who doled out at least $50 million early last year to build their evil empire on lush patches of jungle.

Hey, we need another golf course by the beach on Riviera Maya. Come on. I know what you really want, you khaki-wearing, vehemently Republican, pasty white golf aficionados! You can’t fool me.

Expect the usual land, water, air, and noise pollution. Fortunately, many are absolutely willing to pay more for the eco-friendly integrity and harmony of an eco hotel. You can always do something, and boycotting massive pollution-spewing developments is #1 on the list.

More to come.

Understand Spanish? Watch this misleading video touting Aldea Zamná as an utmost eco-friendly development beneficial to Tulum:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvpXHhq84g8&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999]

While air, water, and soil pollution poison the ecosystem and the region’s inhabitants, thousands of square miles of (previously) pristine Northern Canadian forests in Alberta are being killed for oil. Watch a video here.

Gigantic digging machines are tearing into the soil and harming the forests’ topsoil to the extent that the land becomes sterile. This is going on daily, hourly, constantly, like it previously did in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge. And it’s been going on for years. (I’m surprised, Canada!)

What’s great is that the Canadian Government is using several billions of its people’s tax money to go about this destruction of “Canada’s Amazon of the North.” Even in Brazil–in South America, where corruption tops North America’s by a landslide-the government is doing something proactive, taking a responsible ecological stance to help protect its natural habitats (whether the Brazilian Government is achieving its goals is certainly another matter). Evidently, this isn’t even your everyday forest, it’s a vast stretch of dense, rich land-which, as it rots courtesy of the aforementioned digging machines, produces obscene amounts of CO2. And don’t forget the water pollution (and marine wildlife pollution, and the pollution ingested by humans when they consume said wildlife). AND THE OIL.

Well, I guess this are will no longer be an eco destination!

Maybe I don’t know anything and I’m talking out of my —, but I thought Canada was more progressive than the States about things like this. Well, obviously I was wrong: the CO2 emissions originating from the Tar Sands, which Canada is ruining on purpose, puts the country way up there with the U.S. in terms of pollution.

Know this, Canada: all the polar bears drowning in the Arctic because of accelerated glacial melting are cursing you with their last breaths.

So now what? Just like we ought to call Argentina’s president and demand she stop Tartagal’s deforestation, we ought to give Canada’s politicians a beating. Wait. I mean, we should demand a law against ecocide. All of us, around the world. The more the merrier.

Check out comments on this issue here.

Floods in Tartagal, 2009

In the northwest of Argentina lays a province called Salta, a popular tourist spot, whose trees corporations love to chop down. Salta comprises many rich ecosystems-well, fewer and fewer ecosystems these days.

Currently, the city of Tartagal has been experiencing very destructive floods-since at least 2006, actually! Watch a video here . Every year Argentina gets a rerun, and in other provinces too, e.g. Tucumán (see picture above).

The 2006 flood is evidence that the deforestation of this region’s Argentine forests is a direct cause of these dismal consequences. Now thousands of people have lost their homes because some greedy corporate businessmen have sold their souls to desecrate the planet and fill their fat pockets with crisp dollar bills.

It’s 2009, and still there’s been no progress. There is no firm policy against the massacre of Salta’s forests. See, last year, 1.5 million Argentines stood up and helped create the Forest Law-which hasn’t been put into practice by the government. It’s a shame that with a woman-a minority-president, things remain the same as before. But hey: greed knows no sex, race, class, sexual orientation, or anything else, right? Dough is dough, and when you’re vile enough to rig an election to win the presidency, people can’t expect much…

Please tell the Argentine Government what you think and demand they stop Salta’s deforestation – stop the Forest Law boycott!! or, if you can speak a little Spanish and can spare a couple of bucks, speak up! Call the Red Greenpeace Phone Line at 0011-5411-4000-5580 Mondays through Fridays from 7AM to 3PM EST and tell President Cristina Kirchner to get her ass in gear about the Forest Law.

Xcacel-Xcacelito

Ludivina Menchaca Castellano, senator of Quintana Roo, deserves a gigantic thumbs up.

She is asking the authorities to stand up for Xcacel-Xcacelito. Menchaca Castellano might be one of the too few to be disheartened about the incompetence and selfishness of state and federal authorities for not doing their job of looking after Mexico’s protected ecosystems-in this case, the turtle reserve at Xcacel-Xcacelito.

She pointed out that the General Wildlife Law, while prohibiting any construction in mangrove zones, doesn’t, well, exactly work. Essentially, it is not so much prohibitive as it is restrictive. It doesn’t stop touristic developments from being built in the country.

An augercast pile grid

Investors must understand, then, that ways have changed, she said: “we currently count on new technologies that allow for construction that abides by the new ecological parameters, in other words, the mangrove can be protected through new building methods-in which you use piles-so as not to touch the mangrove and permit the hydrological flow to take its course.”

It seems that thanks to Menchaca Castellano, investors taking part in the local ecocide must restructure and adapt their plans in order to minimally affect the mangrove. In most of Mexico’s tourist spots, thus far, the concept of ecology has been in absentia.

Menchaca Castellano is encouraging authorities throughout Mexico to keep their eyes on the aforementioned turtle haters of Xcacel-Xcacelito-I mean, the investors-so they don’t get away with anything illegal, causing a catastrophe for the loggerheads and other turtles that depend on the neighboring coast to nest every year.

The senator stressed that the relevant authorities must do their job, and particularly in Quintana Roo, where the ecosystem has been most attacked. Protecting the Xcacel-Xcacelito reserve will be one of the Environmental Commission’s priorities, she said.

Finally!

Now, they will probably be using augercast or CFA piles, which cause the least environmental disturbance, even in terms of noise pollution. (See a diagram.) But, you know, the pumping of concrete mix down the auger and into the ground, is going to be felt no matter what. And the yelling of the construction workers. And the noise made by the cement mixers, the trucks, and so on.

The lesser of two evils is still evil. Shouldn’t we just leave the remaining reserves and preserved ecosystems alone to thrive? Do we even need more hotels?

Scratch that-stupid question-of course we do! It’s only right that the developers’ and investors’ pockets keep getting fatter and the environment be continually desecrated.  Silly me.

Xcacel-Xcacelito. Photo by Titti Alvarado

It all started over a decade ago, with Sol Melía’s unsuccessful attempts at destroying the Xcacel-Xcacelito ecosystem (Quintana Roo, Mexico) for the sake of his hotel chain. Environmental activists have been able to steer Melía off course, but the time might have come for his success in 2009.

The selfish, über-capitalist, global-warming-loving Melía has apparently acquired the necessary permits to build right by a reserve, Xcacel-Xcacelito, which would essentially eradicate it.

This fragile ecosystem is where different species of near-endangered turtles, such as loggerheads and green turtles, go to nest every year. Biologists try to protect their eggs from predators at night during this time of year (May-October).

It seems that Melía’s multinational corporation’s been lobbying, all the while receiving the unconditional blessings of the Spanish government through its embassy in Mexico, if not directly through their Prime Minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, another awesome man of the people out to make the world a better place.

Zapatero visited Mexico last year to show his support for the recently “elected” President Felipe Calderón, and to reciprocate the visit he had previously made to Spain. During these meetings, the guilty parties partied with the main Spanish multinational corporations, who just happened to be investing in Mexico. (What a series of coincidences!)

They are all also linked via the Universidad de Quintana Roo (UQROO), Governor Félix González Canto,  and the powerful Quintana Roo Xcaret Group of investors.

I guess the Spanish government and Melía belong to the Global Warming is a Myth! group. Probably to the We’re Corporatists, We’re Rich So We Don’t Care About the Rest of the World group, too. Or maybe they’re just mindless jerks (I’m watching my language, here).

If only more people knew about these developments! If only the mainstream media worked to enlighten instead of to please the corporations that feed it. Part of the work we can do to solve the issues of corporations trying to literally make a killing, is support independent media, help it grow by spreading the word about it to help disseminate the issues we care about that FOX and other poisonous networks wants to cover up.

Read more here, here, and here (in Spanish).

Don’t forget to add us on TWITTER.

A loggerhead turtle (photo by Wikimedia)

Green turtles and loggerheads residing in the “marine turtles sanctuary” on the Riviera Maya’s Virgin Beaches are about to lose their home.

The Punta Carey complex and the Grupo Posadas, according to unofficial sources, have been destroying this protected habitat and effectively committing ecocide. What for? Why, so Grupo Posadas can build a tourist complex and make investors happy, of course!

Although the Grupo Posadas is currently wreaking eco havoc in an area adjacent to Xcacel-Xcacelito, ecologists say the turtles’ habitat and breeding will be affected and that the ecosystem will soon be lost.

But, you know, since the tourist complex will be sustainable, I guess all is A-ok! It’s odd, though, that those in charge of the construction are MIA. Meanwhile, the city, its people, and authorities are keeping their eyes and ears on the elections in Tulum. Manuel Barrero Gutiérrez, director of Tulum’s Urban Development, claims to have been ignorant about the Grupo Posadas project. On Wednesday, his personnel will be visiting the site to conduct the corresponding inspections, which require certain looking after the environment. If the project doesn’t meet the proper standards, it will be shut down.

The area comprises 90 acres of jungle, mangrove, coastal dune, beaches, cenotes, and coralline reefs. It’s the most important beach in Mexico for these turtles to nest; biologists venture out at night to help protect the eggs and young. The turtles come to Xcacel-Xcacelito in May through October.

The project was announced in 2006 and requires $ 26.7 million to develop. It will consist of 250 rooms throughout 370 acres. A development of similar magnitude and cause of ecocide is the Ho­tel Pa­raí­so Xca­cel del Gru­po Gon­zá­lez An­gu­lo.

Green female turtle nesting on the beach

Coral reef off the Egyptian coast

All over the planet—from the Caribbean to Australia’s coasts—coral reefs are withering from the stress swimmers and tourism-related chemicals impose on them. According to WarmIslands.com, during the last 10 years alone the Caribbean’s reefs have been under strenuous attack.

The culprits:

• Snorkeling and diving – swimmers astonished by the reefs’ beauty touch the fragile corals, causing serious damage. SOLUTION: stay away from those reefs! And if for whatever reason you find yourself down there, hands off, kids!
• Sunscreen – chemicals in the sunscreen dissolving off swimmers’ skins intensifies the decline of coral populations. SOLUTION: choose biodegradable sunscreen or wear a t-shirt.
• Disturbed sediment – unnaturally strong currents (caused by swimmers, yachts, motorboats, and so on) can alter sediment and provoke the diaspora of animal life as the animals lose their home. Another consequence is sand settling onto coral formations. SOLUTION: stay off those boats!
• Anchors of motorboats, yachts, etc. – these can destroy corals and thereby their entire ecosystem, which results in animals losing their homes. SOLUTION: just say no!
• The collection of specimens – despite the seemingly infinite abundance of marine life, the removal of species is not only detrimental to the ecosystem, but may also result in the accidental removal of rare and endangered species. SOLUTION: refrain from collecting any specimens and do your best to discourage others from doing so.
• Increase in sedimentation – as tourism grows, so does the construction of hotels and other developments used to accommodate travelers. With construction comes pollution in the form of noise, contaminated air and water, and copious sedimentation both natural and synthetic. Higher amounts of sedimentation close to the shore encourage ocean species to move farther offshore, where lower levels of nutrients are available for their consumption and they are more vulnerable to the pernicious attacks of motorboats, etc. SOLUTION: consider going somewhere else for the holidays, or remain strictly green and encourage others to follow your lead – which should be a perpetual tactic for us eco travelers anyway!
• Waste – more people equals more waste. While proper waste disposal methods are usually available, many tourists are ignorant of environmentally friendly ways to dispose of their waste. Another problem is the myriad tourists who just don’t care about the environment enough to change their destructive habits. Their garbage then winds up floating on the water and sticking to coral reefs. SOLUTION: speak up when you see someone littering and kindly point them in the right direction.
• Pollution – While some vacation spots aren’t located within industrialized areas, it is usually inevitable that pollutants will be released into the air, land, and water in the forms of fuel, oil, paint, sewage, and so on. SOLUTION: go green or don’t go at all!

It is imperative that we continue to raise awareness about green tourism to inspire respect for our precious planet. As we continue to devise new ways to mitigate humans’ effects on our planet, we owe it to ourselves to compassionately educate those around us.