Cancun, Q.R. — A ruling by a Cancun judge had ordered the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) to restore a significant portion of the defunked residential development of Tajamar Malecón.
According to the recent ruling, la Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (Semarnat) must restore the mangrove area that was deforested in the Tajamar Malecón in Cancún, adding that there will be no further development on that sire.
The ruling comes in favor of social organizations who fought to have the site restored and further development stopped. The judicial ruling was handed down from the Third Collegiate Court which prohibits further development and deems the 2005-Semarnat-issued environmental permit, invalid.
Semarnat has been ordered to reforest all areas of the Tajomar Malecón area with the exception of already paved spaces that are complete. Additional cutting to the area is not permitted.
This most recent ruling annuls a previous ruling by the Third District Judge in Cancún who says it is the responsibility of Semarnat to restore mangrove areas since those areas will not reforest on their own.
Initially, the General Directorate of Impact and Environmental Risk of Semarnat felt that the restoration should be limited to only 10 affected lots, which was validated by the Third District Court. However, in the most recent ruling, the Third Collegiate Court felt that the restoration should not limited to certain lots or areas, but include the entire area that makes up the Malecón Tajamar.