A burned fence that obstructed access to the public beach is the latest sign of the exhaustion of the inhabitants of Telchac Puerto, a municipality in Yucatán. The inhabitants of this town denounce the destruction of dunes, the excessive growth of real estate developments and the prohibition of free access to the sea.
In a stretch of 39 kilometers, between Telchac Puerto and Dzilam de Bravo, there are at least 500 buildings, of which about 20% are new buildings that reach 10 or more floors in height. A landscape that until five years ago did not exist in this part of the Yucatecan coast.
Most of them are promoted for sale or rent as luxury residential properties and, while they are building, they close access to the beaches. Thus, the almost two thousand inhabitants of the place are left with small spaces for recreation.
The higher-level constructions in this section are increasingly evident. Source: Itzel Chan
Faced with the worsening situation, residents of the place collected signatures to request the surveillance of the State government to prevent the illegal closure of access to the beach. Those who close do not have permits and authorizations to do so, but at the same time they do not receive sanctions.
Management Program
From the Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute (Cinvestav), Ana García Silberman described the growth of urbanization by real estate groups as 'brutal'.
In 2007 she, together with a team, led the development of the Ecological Management Program for the Coastal Territory of the State of Yucatán.
“By then, we did it following the official guidelines that are established and with the logic of the regulations, that is, minimizing coastal damage. We work on fundamental processes such as not filling mangroves and avoiding coastal erosion, among many other aspects,” he recalled.
Academics from Cinvestav, the Autonomous University of Yucatán (UADY), the Conkal and Monterrey Technologists were involved in the development of the Program.
Experts prioritized the fragility of the ecosystem of the state's coastal zone. For example, to avoid erosion, they emphasized protecting the dune from deforestation, since it is a sand formation covered by vegetation that preserves ecosystems against hurricanes and tropical storms.
The buildings are built on the coastal dunes. Source: Itzel Chan
To protect the sand in the ecosystem, the document established that buildings must be at least 60 meters away from the coast and respect the dune. In addition, the buildings could not have a height greater than seven meters. However, the proposal was opposed by the real estate sector, who saw it as a threat to private property.
“When we consulted for the creation of these documents, the local population was more involved and they had a very clear request: we don't want to become another Cancun. That was in everyone's voice,” he described.
In the document of the Ecological Management Program, they established that a maximum of two floors high and without fences would be allowed to allow wildlife to pass through.
Despite the achievements that were achieved with this territorial planning, in 2014 it was modified and one of the changes was that, since that year, each municipality is free to apply this instrument or not.
“Right now there is an indicative Land Use that doesn't work. Now on the coast they can build wherever they want, with whatever height they want and that's what we're seeing at Telchac Puerto,” he said
Now we can see how the sea hits the shore of some houses and residences, as well as its consequent erosion.
Although the Program for the Ecological Management of the Coastal Territory of the State of Yucatán is not mandatory, one of the guidelines that is maintained is respect for the dune, since Article 12 sets out criteria for ecological regulation.
“For the construction of houses-rooms, housing and urban developments, swimming pools, restaurants, commercial facilities and services in general, marine, will not level or destroy the first dune and will respect the existing creeping and scrub vegetation both on the dune and on the beach,” indicates the article referred to.
Despite the limitations in terms of the number of floors, the new buildings exceed what was established. Source: Itzel Chan
In the same way, the Management Program proposes opting for construction systems raised on piles, which maintain the dune and vegetation, which will require evaluation in terms of environmental impact. However, during a tour, it was found that there are no such projects in the territory.
In addition, although only buildings with a minimum area of 300 square meters are proposed, the current ones exceed these measures.
José Inés Loria Palma is a resident of the area and also a witness to the expansion of buildings in the area. “It's an environmental aberration because there are more and more buildings without taking into account everything that implies,” he said.
He notices the change in the birds' routes. Before, they did not encounter tall buildings in their path. Same case of turtles, who from one moment to the next found concrete in the nesting area.
“Another issue that worries us is where the solid waste and sewage generated by these new buildings goes and there is no one to monitor that they comply with environmental laws,” he said.
Although the business sector sells the idea that it is an economic benefit for the town, the truth is that those who live there do not say that it has been a positive change.
“Many people say it's about modernity, but there's nothing modern about it if it doesn't improve the quality of life of the local people. In other words, these are also exclusive models, because they don't involve those who live here at all,” he said.
Some projects advertise this area as the “new Mexican Riviera”. Source: Itzel Chan
Cancun-type residential properties
The executive vice-president of the Mexican Association of Real Estate Professionals (AMPI), Claudia Pérez Aguilar, acknowledged that the Yucatecan coast is currently under high pressure with construction.
“For some people, having property or land facing the sea in other parts of the same Mexico is too high a price and here in Yucatán there is a lot of construction because there is a lot of offer, especially apartments, vertical developments facing the sea -Cancun type-, resorts, because these complexes have pools, gyms, bars, and they have too many amenities in the same place,” he described.
The real estate specialist highlighted that the Yucatecan population used to have their summer houses near the beaches, but now people from other states or countries have a second home in this area, since they are looking for quieter places than Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Tulum and other populated areas.
Along with the buildings, access to public beaches is prohibited. Source: Itzel Chan
A new project is coming
In a review of revenues from the Environmental Impact Statement (MIA) before the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat), from 2024 to date, on average, up to 10 documents were submitted each month for new buildings in Yucatán; at least two correspond to the municipalities of Telchac Puerto or Dzilam Bravo.
One of the most recent projects to be established in Telchac Puerto is a mixed private real estate and housing development, which estimates an investment of 10 million pesos to cover more than two thousand hectares.
It should be mentioned that the name of the project is not public and is announced as: Construction and Operation of a Development in Telchac Puerto.
Even for the water supply, the promoter Martín Antonio Santamaría Suárez confirms that they will seek to connect to the current municipal network, without specifying whether they have already processed the permits before the National Water Commission (Conagua) for such action and what the supply capacity would be.
In the MIA given to Semarnat, they indicate that vegetation will be removed from the dune, even that the first layer of soil will be removed until the rock stratum is reached, but they do not mention a percentage of vegetation conservation that is the requirement of the people who live in the area.
Regarding wastewater generation, they admit that they would be producing 1,300 liters per saleable lot and in the same way they do not describe the treatment that will be given to them.
Although they were asked for more information via email to deepen these points of the project, there was no response.
The dunes, the most affected
The buildings between Telchac Puerto and Dzilam de Bravo lead to a reduction in dune vegetation and this represents a danger both to fauna and to the population because it is left unprotected against the arrival of hurricanes and storms.
People in the community are organizing to curb these effects. One is Elías Estrada, who became a volunteer for the Sea Turtle Protection and Conservation Program. He is aware that the biggest challenge they face is the establishment of real estate and tourism projects and the destruction of the coastal dune.
The work they do is in favor of sea turtles. Source: The Telchac Puerto Turtle Club
“There is no awareness about preservation and the importance of the dune on the beach. Investors come and the first thing they do is disassemble, they remove all the coastal dune without knowing that it is the first barrier we have,” he said.
The group to which he belongs has been working on dune reforestation since 2022. They account for at least one new construction every month.
From the collection of seeds, they formed a nursery where they have a variety of plants that, when they grow, are distributed on the shore of the beach.
They ask house by house, development by development, if it is possible to plant vegetation, they explain to them the importance of having them and ask them to commit to caring for them, so that they do not fumigate and cut them down.
“It's difficult for people to be environmentally aware. My learning, for example, is to know the importance of vegetation because they take root that forms underground and generate more mounds of sand that helps us to retain our beaches. So I know that we don't just take care of our habitat; with the coastal dune we also take care of the environment of the animals that live there,” he said.
Although they see positive change among people in the community, they denounce that construction companies have no prospect of environmental care.
“What we want is for construction companies to understand that we don't want to become a Playa del Carmen or a Cancun because they no longer have vegetation there, it's pure white sand and no more buildings,” he added.
His colleague, Arelda Berenice Chay, specified that his work focuses on the conservation of sea turtles that come to nest on the beach, but they notice that the buildings affect the vegetation and, therefore, this fauna is left without space to spawn.
Sea turtles are looking for dune sites to spawn. Source: The Telchac Puerto Turtle Club
“There is a close relationship between dunes and turtles. We realized this need and therefore what we seek is to protect them and for this we have to protect their home, because they are looking for a tree, a beach bush and if they don't find them, they have nowhere to go. That's why we regret that there are a lot of buildings because they are devastating the dune,” he said.
People in the community recognize that tourism brings economic benefits, but they consider that these are minimal compared to the effects on the environment.
Currently, they are working on the reforestation of 25 varieties of plants to prevent the complete loss of dune vegetation in the area.
“What we want is for the people who build to recognize the importance of the dune because many think it's a weed or a bad mountain, they see it as a waste, but no, this is part of our wildlife and it's the important wildlife house in our community,” he said.
* This article was written by Itzel Chan, who covers coastal communities thanks to the support of the Report for the World program .
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