Riviera Maya, Q.R. — Environmental officers have shut down over two dozen properties found to be illegally cleared of forest. According to government inspectors, at least one of the cleared areas was carried out by members of a Mennonite group.
The Federal Attorney General’s Office for Environmental Protection (Profepa) shut down activities on 25 properties across Quintana Roo for the illegal clearing of more than 330 hectares.
From October 20 to 29, the Procuraduría Federal de Protección al Ambiente (Profepa) conducted inspection and monitoring visits at various locations in Quintana Roo.
During those visits, inspectors detected damage to 331,901 hectares of forest vegetation due to land clearing, road construction, and other activities carried out without the required environmental permits.
As a result, Profepa issued 25 temporary closures across 25 areas within the San Isidro Poniente ejido, one closure on a property in Cancun, and one closure on a project adjacent to the Bacalar Lagoon.
In the ejido San Isidro Poniente, located in the municipality of José María Morelos, the removal of forest vegetation totals 25 properties with an affected area of 331.901 hectares of low sub-evergreen forest and medium sub-evergreen forest: 304.863 correspond to 22 polygons, inspected on October 21, and 24.94 hectares correspond to three other properties, inspected on October 29.
In none of these sites was it proven that they had the authorization of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) to carry out the change of land use in forest lands.
According to residents of the San Isidro Poniente area, the vegetation removal activities were carried out by members of a Mennonite group in the region. This information, as well as the status of ejido and usufruct rights related to the land, will be reviewed during the administrative proceedings.
As a result of the visits carried out on October 21 and 29, 25 closures were imposed and the corresponding administrative procedures were initiated.
On October 20, Profepa personnel visited a property adjacent to the Bacalar Lagoon in the municipality of Othón P. Blanco, to follow up on the administrative procedure regarding the environmental impact assessment related to the Los Rápidos Restaurant project.
As a result, the project’s construction and activities were shut down, and the corresponding official seals were affixed.
Furthermore, on October 23, during an inspection visit to the Southern Polygon of Cancún, in the municipality of Benito Juárez, the agency detected the complete removal of secondary vegetation of medium-height sub-evergreen forest across an area of 20,980 m², equivalent to 2.098 hectares.
Because federal authorization for the change of land use in forest areas was not provided, a total temporary closure of the works and activities was imposed.
In all cases, Profepa drew up the corresponding reports to document the conditions of the sites, the observed facts, and the measures imposed. It will also continue with the administrative procedures to determine any applicable responsibilities, as well as the corresponding sanctions and corrective or restorative measures.
The removal of forest vegetation without authorization can cause loss of biodiversity, soil erosion and fragmentation of natural habitats, as well as affect the environmental services provided by these ecosystems.
Changing the land use of forest areas requires authorization from the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat), in accordance with Article 93 of the General Law for Sustainable Forest Development.
The closures imposed are safety measures to prevent further damage and do not constitute a final ruling on administrative responsibilities, which will be determined once the corresponding procedures are completed.
Last year, federal inspectors shut down 17 Mennonite properties for illegal land clearing. All 17 land closures, which totaled over 3,700 hectares, were in the Yucatan Peninsula.
Of the states inspected, Quintana Roo was the most affected state. Those closures resulted in nearly a dozen federal law suits against peninsula Mennonite communities for illegal cutting of jungle forest.
