Save Eco Destinations

A colorful map of QR from seamonkeybusiness.com

Mexico reopened a lot of its archaeological sites and museums to the public yesterday thanks to the authorization of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), said State Tourism Secretary Sara Latife Ruiz. The sites had been closed since April 29.

About time!

Quintana Roo INAH Delegate Adriana Velásquez Morlet said the following have been greenlighted:

• Museum of the Maya Culture in Chetumal
• El Rey and El Meco in Cancún
• San Gervasio and El Cedral in Cozumel
• Tulum and Coba in Riviera Maya
• Chacchoben, Kohunlich, Kinichná, Dzibanché, Oxtankah, Xpuhil and The Fort of San Felipe Bacalar in the south

I hope you’re happy because I’m still getting partly screwed: the Tulum by Night show hasn’t even been given a date for making its comeback.

Chichén Itzá

In Yucatán, Chichén Itzá has reopened. Apparently it’s one of the new 7 wonders of the world. I should check it out.

Speaking of which—how do the forces of the universe (ha) choose what comprises a wonder, why are there new ones, and why still 7 instead of adding to the list? I’m sure there are very boring answers to those questions.

Anyway, after widespread piggy flu P-A-N-I-C throughout Mexico (in vain, I tell you, in vainnn!) most of the Caribbean portion of QR is returning to normal—bars, restaurants, shops (I’m sure the shopaholics reading this have a smile on their faces now, eh?), and other “tourist attractions.”

High schools and universities reopen tomorrow, Thursday 5/7 and the little ones go back to class starting Monday.

Cancun Intl Airport

The Ministry of Health assures the country is fading out of the disease.

Poor Mexico, so stigmatized when the swine flu is really no more dangerous than the regular flu. (Oh, yes—you better expect a whole post on that.)

At least the intl. airport in Cancun (CUN) got 99 flights (arrivals + departures) today alone. Wait for me, CUN, I’ll be there soon!!

“The swine flu be damned!” they said. OK, not really—that’s what I said.

Here’s the deal: federal, state, and municipal authorities have met in Cancun together with the businesses involved in the plan to stop beach erosion in the north of Quintana Roo.  Mexican authorities assured their work will continue.

Beach erosion at Playa del Carmen

The swine flu plus the worldwide economic crisis—and now its exacerbation due to drastic tourism lows because people mistakenly think they have super high chances of catching swine flu and that it is super deadly*—are wreaking havoc in Mexico.

Still, “The swine flu be damned!” I said (see?).  Beach rescue plans in Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Cozumel will not be stopped, said Rodolfo Elizondo of the Secretary of Tourism (Sectur) and Mauricio Limón, of Environmental and Natural Resources (Semarnat).

Although the project was to begin on June 4, it has been pushed back a month to July. They expect the project to be finished by December, as it’s the most important month in terms of tourism for the Mexican Caribbean.

Why will this project go on? Precisely because of the chaos: Cancun must get itself out of trouble come high tourist season. It has to regain its allure to attract people to Mexico.

The federal government is ponying up MXN 400 million (USD 29 million) and the state govt. MXN 200 million (USD 14 million) plus credits to be solicited by the municipalities.

Ecological issues

The environmental aspects of the project will cost about MXN 900 million (USD 65 million). The authorities are in the process of gathering public opinion.

The regional Environmental Impact Manifestation has been submitted to Environmental Impact Evaluation Proceedings (PEIA) on April 2. PEIA has 60 days to emit a verdict, or longer if it requires additional information to make its decision. Semarnat guaranteed one by mid-June.

The “Cozumel issue”—the original opposition to sand extractions in its bank in Punta Norte—was “resolved” after hotel developer Fernando García Zalvidea got pissy about the repercussions of the continued block on this “indispensable” project for all of Quintana Roo and Mexico.

On the other hand, Limón Aguirre said La Ollita is not an option for a sand extraction source, as it holds less than 50% of the necessary amount of sand required.

More info (in Spanish) here.

Oh, the environment always loses when faced with financial gains to be had at its expense. Is beach erosion something so important to fix, environmentally, that extracting sand from another area and thereby affecting an ecosystem is worth the trouble?

YES, say hotel businessmen. DUH.

Oh, sorry. I should’ve known.

At the same time, if these beaches stop looking like the pamphlets promise they do and tourists start flocking elsewhere, these people, locals, won’t be able to feed their families (most people in Mexico are, of course, not rich).

It is complicated.

But can it only be one way or the other? Can’t there be a middle ground, or a way that both parties can win?

There must be. But it’s not worth the money when you can just extract sand from someplace more convenient, and finish it all in time for high season. At least this time.

* yes, I think the swine flu pandemic is BS. Really, read this article!! Think critically and deconstruct fear.mongering!

Beach erosion in Cancun (pic usurped from Trip Advisor, sorry)

Understandably, since it would cause environmental problems, inhabitants are against sand extraction in their vicinity. So where should the sand come from that is needed to fight beach erosion in Cancun, Cozumel and Playa del Carmen?

The Mexican state government has begun analyzing other sources in the area and guarantee they will continue with the “beach rescue project” despite the swine flu, sinking economy, and whatever else. The govt is awaiting the approval (or not) of the regional Environmental Impact Manifestation (MIA) by the Secretary of Environmental and Natural Resources (Semarnat).

State Governor Félix González Canto said last week that “we all have to do our part.” Although the technical and financial aspects of the project are set, “the environmental issue is a legitimate concern.”

There seems to be some real interest in remaining eco-friendly here. You know, to quit pissing so many people off, is my guess.

So, he said, sand will be extracted from across the Cozumel coastline only if Semarnat approves the MIA. Experts are seeking other sand banks among numerous options between Cozumel and Isla Mujeres.

If Semarnat says NO, well, they’re going to try again. Quite optimistically, even if they fail to get Semarnat’s OK, they hope to get the project going by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, Cozumel authorities show ambivalence and refrain from taking an official stance of the issue. Awesome.

Oh, and tourists have been complaining about the eroded beaches in the Mexican Caribbean, since, you know, perfect ones show up in the pamphlets…

The mayor of Cozumel, Juan Carlos González, said he understands he needs to speak up but he feels caught between “a sword and the wall.” The locals are against it because they fear it would affect the harvest of pink snails and would make the area more vulnerable to hurricanes.

The area from which the sand would be extracted, moreover, is about to be decreed a Protected Natural Area, which would conflict with the sand extraction project. With the lack of a positive MIA, there is no way to convince the community that no negative effects will be felt.

What do you think? Can a compromise be reached? Does one evil outweigh the other?

beach erosion in MX

Early last month, Mexican citizens marched in Cozumel demanding the plan to extract 7 million cubic meters of sand off the north coast of Cozumel’s beaches be cancelled.

The march was organized by the environmentalist NGO Sky, Land and Sea (Cielo, Tierra y Mar, or Citymar) in order to protest the extraction of sand. This extraction would cause severe problems to the local ecosystem, said Citymar President Guadalupe Alvarez Chulim.

Local and diverse species would be adversely affected if such a huge amount of sand were removed from the area because said species feed off plankton and sea grasses.

Alvarez Chulim expressed gladness when the municipal president took the NGO’s side. He said neither the will of Cozumel’s inhabitants nor their local environment would be trampled.

“When there is will, it is possible to avoid the implementation of pernicious projects,” Alvarez Chulim told El Quintanarroense.

Success: The Cozumel City Council decided to side with Citymar and local residents.

La Ollita

Another plan has been set up to replace the Cozumel sand-extraction plan: to extract sand from the fishing area at La Ollita instead. Locals oppose this plan as well, even though, supposedly (uh huh) it would cause less environmental damage. (Bullshit.)

Alderman Baltazar Gómez Catzin said that “it is understood that municipal authority supports the collective cause and it has shown it, this would not be the exception,” according to El Quintanarroense.

The issue now is getting enough people to stand up and take to the streets to protest the new project once it starts.

“I am willing to head the movement, but I won’t do it when I don’t have the direct support of several dozen people willing to take certain measures,” Gómez Catzin said, and noted that people are not used to taking these sorts of actions, although they have on numerous occasions in the last few years.

He said the harm done to the area of extraction would be irreversible, even though official information is being hidden. (Wow. Ok—not really a surprise.)

“The authorities are hiding information, but we have seen the effects, regardless of the fact that a good amount of the millions of cubic meters of sand extracted years ago ended up in the bay, affecting the corals,” he added.

The beaches that have suffered sand extractions are still notably damaged by them.

Learning economics by diving

My Google Alerts caught something that made me smile: the story of DePauw economics professor Gary Lemon, who takes his winter term students on diving trips to Cozumel, Tulum, and Chichen Itza every year.

The article mentions that trips to such destinations comprise economics lessons in and of themselves for the students (I don’t buy it). But, whatever the reason, it’s nice to read that his most frequently uttered words during those trips are always the caveat, “If I see you grabbing on to the coral, you better have one heck of a reason.”

Professor Lemon goes out of his way-as he should-to instruct his students on how to be ecologically responsible and make their activities eco-friendly. (No information is given as to where they stay, whether they wear biodegradable sunscreen to keep corals safe, or whether they offset the carbon footprint from their flights and so on in any way, however. And I am curious.)

If these ridiculously lucky students don’t fly home to DePauw in Indiana with an acute understanding of the region’s economic underpinnings, they do return with a (likely newfound) appreciation for the beauty and frailty of the underwater world. After their experiences going scuba diving, some students have even switched academic specialties, e.g. from physics to marine biology, and as a second semester junior! That’s gotta be considerable work. But hey, the harder the work, the more we know these future marine biologists are working for the good guys and gals. Good job, Prof. Lemon!