Posted on January 5, 2026
Riviera Maya, Q.R. — Citizens and civil society organizations have asked that Semarnat deny the request for extension of the current authorization. “We ask the Quintana Roo government to comply with the legislation on Environmental Impact for the restoration of beaches in the north of the state,” reported Cemda, the Mexico Center for Environmental Law.
Civil society organizations, citizen groups and academics express our concern regarding the recent statements by the head of the Quintana Roo Ministry of the Environment, indicating that the beach restoration project in the northern part of the state will proceed without a new Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
This is being based on an environmental permit issued in 2009 and a simple administrative extension, despite the fact that environmental, regulatory, and territorial conditions have changed substantially in over fifteen years. We raise the following concerns:
Recognized insufficiency of the current environmental authorization
Only the beach restoration project in Cancun requires a new executive project and a new Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), because the currently proposed area (from Playa Las Perlas to Punta Nizuc) is not covered by the original authorization.
Furthermore, statements from the Secretary of the Environment indicate that the state project intends to include new municipalities such as Puerto Morelos, confirming that the 2009 authorization is not legally sufficient to support the planned works.
In addition, Mexican law requires that EIAs be modified or updated for expanded projects, those with significant changes, or those that have been in place for more than 5-10 years, in accordance with the General Law of Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection (LGEEPA) and NOM-059-SEMARNAT.
A regional project with inter-municipal impacts
The restoration of beaches in northern Quintana Roo is a regional project, not an isolated intervention. It involves multiple municipalities with distinct ecosystems and legal frameworks, whose impacts are interconnected by coastal dynamics.
Among the municipalities involved are Benito Juárez (Cancun), Puerto Morelos, Isla Mujeres (including Costa Mujeres), Playa del Carmen and Cozumel, encompassing more than 30 kilometers of coastline.
Some of these municipalities fall within the area of influence of federally protected natural areas (ANP), such as the Puerto Morelos Reef National Park and the Mexican Caribbean Biosphere Reserve, established in 2016 but nonexistent at the time of the original authorization.
The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) authorized in 2009, originally limited to the municipalities of Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Cozumel, is materially and legally insufficient to support the expansion of the project to Puerto Morelos and the incorporation of an additional 33.5 km of coastline.
The magnitude, territorial scope, and current environmental conditions necessitate the preparation and submission of a new Environmental Impact Statement, not merely a modification of the existing one, incorporating updated studies of bathymetry, coastal dynamics and sand volumes, in accordance with the requirements established by SEMARNAT itself.
While the authority has indicated that the assessment falls within the framework of the National Restoration Plan and has considered expedited response procedures for emergency situations, these procedures do not exempt the entity from full compliance with the environmental assessment process, the resolution of which, if applicable, is expected in the first quarter of 2026.
Substantial Environmental Changes Since 2009: The Mexican Caribbean has undergone profound environmental transformations: rising sea levels, increased intensity of hydrometeorological events, and the massive and recurring arrival of sargassum seaweed since 2015, a phenomenon that was nonexistent in 2009.
Furthermore, the reefs that form part of the Mesoamerican Reef System are in critical condition, as their coverage has decreased from 19% to 13% since 2009. The 2023 bleaching event was the most severe on record with approximately 40% of the corals severely affected. The remaining corals face increasingly severe threats, hence the need for protection and restoration.
It should also be considered that since 2009, new protected natural areas have been created and the marine and coastal conservation framework has been strengthened. The aforementioned variables were not, and could not have been, considered in the original authorization; therefore, insisting on its validity contravenes the principle of environmental precaution.
Lack of evaluation of the performance of the original project
It is particularly concerning that there is no comprehensive public assessment of the performance and environmental impact of the project authorized in 2009, despite the fact that multiple sections of the coastline exhibit persistent or worsening erosion.
Furthermore, it is necessary to verify compliance with the conditions of the current authorization. The accelerated loss of sand in Playa del Carmen demonstrates that poorly designed or insufficiently evaluated interventions can exacerbate the problem rather than solve it.
Ecological fragility and protected species
The sandy beaches of northern Quintana Roo are part of a highly fragile and interconnected ecological system – beach, dune, reef, and seagrass beds – essential not only for tourism but also for the nesting of sea turtles, species protected by Mexican law.
Four main species of migratory sea turtles nest in the northern part of the state: the green sea turtle, loggerhead, hawksbill and the leatherback sea turtle. These species are listed in NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010 as protected species: Chelonia mydas is classified as endangered, Eretmochelys imbricata as critically endangered, while Caretta caretta and Dermochelys coriacea are categorized as vulnerable.
These turtles nest on the beaches of Quintana Roo, making several beaches in the region key sanctuaries or turtle nesting camps for their conservation. Various organizations and government authorities, such as the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP), carry out protection programs that include beach patrols, relocating nests to protected enclosures, and releasing hatchlings.
Furthermore, the beaches of Quintana Roo are also home to shorebirds such as the pectoral sandpiper, the ruddy turnstone, the brown pelican and the osprey, which would be affected by this beach restoration project, as they depend on sandy habitats for foraging and resting.
Other important species include the magnificent frigatebird and herons such as the reddish egret, whose feeding grounds are altered by sand compaction or sediment removal.
Additionally, invertebrates such as the queen conch, the Caribbean spiny lobster and beach crabs inhabit the intertidal zones and could suffer direct mortality from machinery or loss of refuges during restoration. These organisms, some of which are listed in NOM-059-SEMARNAT, are key to the food webs that support turtles and birds.
International commitments, human rights and citizen participation
Implementing the project without a new Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) could violate the human right to a healthy environment, recognized in Article 4 of the Constitution, as well as the right to information and citizen participation in environmental matters, guaranteed by national legislation and the Escazú Agreement, to which Mexico is a State Party.
Compliance with international commitments such as the Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles and the Convention on Biological Diversity, among others, is also at risk. For all the reasons stated above, we respectfully request the authorities of the Quintana Roo government to:
To make information transparent and adhere to their responsibilities, avoiding conflicts of interest and incurring administrative and environmental liability. Prepare a new Regional Environmental Impact Assessment that considers the current conditions of coastal ecosystems, impact mitigation and compliance with current environmental legislation.
Incorporate updated information and apply the best available science, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and the General Law on Humanities, Sciences, Technologies and Innovation.
We urge the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) to deny the request to extend the current Environmental Impact Authorization and to require the preparation and evaluation of a new, comprehensive, regional and updated Environmental Impact Assessment.
Furthermore, we ask that it guarantee access to information and citizen participation in the environmental impact assessment process, in accordance with the General Law of Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection, its regulations on EIAs and the Escazú Agreement.
Finally, the agency must ensure that any decision is based on science, legality, transparency, and human rights, not on outdated environmental authorizations.
Beach restoration must be a real, long-term solution, not an additional source of environmental and social conflict. Protecting the coastal ecosystems of Quintana Roo is protecting the future of the Mexican Caribbean and its communities.
