National Parks
Numerous national parks, natural reserves and other protection areas are dedicated to the preservation of the natural environments present in the Yucatán Peninsula.
Sian Ka'an Nature Reserve: located in the south of the Riviera Maya and classified as a Unesco World Heritage Site, it protects mangrove ecosystems, sandy beaches and tropical forests, as well as part of the largest coral reef in the Western Hemisphere. It is home to the cenotes, natural pools that harbor a unique biodiversity, and the petenes, tropical forests that emerge from swampy areas. The reserve acts as an ecological continuum between these different ecosystems, allowing the preservation of biodiversity.
Ria Lagartos Reserve: located in the north-east of the peninsula, it protects remarkable wetlands, including mangroves and cenotes but also lakes(las coloradas) and pink salt marshes. The biodiversity is remarkable and one can observe many birds, such as pink flamingos, or crocodiles
Arrecife Alacráns National Park : located in the north of Yucatán and registered as a Unesco World Heritage Site, it protects the largest coral reef in the Gulf of Mexico. One of the islands that make up the park is accessible by boat and it is possible to snorkel there.
El Corchito Cenotes Nature Reserve : located in the north of the peninsula, it protects a remarkable biodiversity associated with mangrove and cenote ecosystems.
Strong anthropic pressures on the environment
Human activities are responsible for the degradation of natural environments and the erosion of biodiversity, in particular agriculture, industrial fishing and also tourism, through the pollution they generate, the change in land use, the overexploitation of resources, but also the introduction of invasive species.
Agricultural pollution. Nitrogen and phosphate discharges from industrial agriculture contribute to the disruption of wetland ecosystems. The use of pesticides has also contributed to the erosion of biodiversity. The good news, which came in January 2021, is the promulgation of a decree banning the use of glyphosate and the cultivation and import of GMO corn in the country by 2024.
Deforestation. Deforestation, which began with the construction of ships in the 18th century and the creation of the railway in the following century, is now mainly linked to agriculture, livestock and urban development, but also to illegal logging. These activities threaten the survival of the forests. Faced with this situation, initiatives exist. The NGO Nukuch Kaax is developing agroforestry projects in Yucatán.
Mass tourism. Mass tourism also has a strong environmental impact. It generates an artificialization of the soil and a fragmentation of natural environments through the almost continuous urbanization of the coastline, especially between Cancun and Tulum. Another aspect is the important production of waste and aqueous effluents, whose management is deficient and contributes to the pollution of the environment. It is estimated that the hotel complexes are responsible for nearly 95% of the wastewater in Cancun, where the installations are insufficient to treat this effluent quantitatively and qualitatively before it is discharged into the natural environment, in this case the ocean. This tourism also leads to an overexploitation of resources, especially fisheries.
Cancun, or the end of a model
Cancun represents the symbol of a tourism model that is doomed to disappear. Created ex-nihilo in the 1970s along a virgin coastline, the seaside resort is the source of pollution and pressure on natural resources, as previously mentioned. Urbanization has led to a fragmentation of natural environments. The large hotel complexes act as a barrier, preventing exchanges - particularly the circulation of water - between the lagoon and the sea, thus contributing to the disruption of ecosystems. They also impede the winds, reinforcing the effect of the waves and the erosion of the beaches, on which the tourist frequentation is based. To save the beaches - and tourism - millions of tons of sand have been trucked in, creating not only significant air pollution and greenhouse gases, but also natural imbalances in situ and ex situ. These sand inputs also contribute to the weakening of the coral reef. In addition, climate change is accelerating coastal erosion and could contribute to a more frequent occurrence of extreme events in a geographical area exposed to hurricanes(Delta, Gamma and Zeta in 2020). Eventually, the entire site is threatened with extinction.
The invasion of sargassum or the symbol of planetary pollution
The beaches of the Riviera Maya are periodically confronted with the stranding of sargassum on its coasts. The proliferation of this brown algae has direct economic repercussions on the territory (seaside activities and fishing), presents environmental impacts (disturbance of the local biodiversity) and health risks for the exposed persons. This phenomenon is linked to intensive agriculture in the Amazon. Massive deforestation and intensive use of inputs - phosphates and nitrates - generate a leaching of soils, whose effluents end up in the river and then in the ocean, where they create favorable conditions for the development of Sargassum. The currents then carry the algae to the Caribbean Sea. The sand mists from the Sahara would also contribute to the movement of Sargassum. Global warming could induce the more frequent occurrence of these sand mists. Faced with this, booms are set up off the coast. But these are only curative actions. We can, through our daily actions and our consumption choices, contribute to the prevention of pollution and the fight against climate change.
