Public pressure to defend ecosystems shows no signs of letting up. So far this year, the Federal Attorney’s Office for Environmental Protection (Profepa) in Quintana Roo has received 150 complaints regarding environmental violations.
According to records from open data portals, this figure confirms a historical trend that places the state among the top five in Mexico with the highest incidence of environmental protection complaints, recording an annual average of 300 formal case files.
Given this volume of public engagement and environmental damage, Quintana Roo ranks in the national “top 5,” trailing only behind regions with massive demographic and industrial densities, such as the Metropolitan Area of the Valley of Mexico, Jalisco, the State of Mexico, and Michoacán.
Real Estate and Tourism Developments: The Primary Source of Complaints
Unlike other states where the impact of industrial or forestry activity predominates, in the context of Quintana Roo, the primary source of citizen complaints is directly linked to real estate and tourism development.
Complaints regarding construction projects lacking the required Environmental Impact Statement (MIA) authorizations have become a major red flag for federal inspectors. This category also encompasses housing developments carried out without due regard for marine ecosystems—areas that fall strictly under federal jurisdiction.
According to reports, community vigilance has continued to yield results through the implementation of precautionary and mitigation measures.
One of the most visible actions taken by Profepa early this year was halting the “Perfect Day Mahahual” tourism project, located in the southern part of the state. In this regard, José Luis Funes Izaguirre—head of the Profepa office in Quintana Roo and a professional with over three decades of experience working with environmental associations and funds—detailed the complexity of the current situation:
“In Quintana Roo, there are several issues that need to be addressed. Given the rapid growth the region has experienced in recent years, human interaction with wildlife has become much closer; we are talking about jaguars, pumas, and spider monkeys, among various other species. Furthermore, another key directive is to monitor unauthorized deforestation, which is currently taking place in the southern and central parts of the state.”
Although the volume of complaints remains steady, local collectives and activists point out that the primary challenge facing the state continues to be operational response capacity—a shortfall driven by the chronic shortage of staff and inspectors plaguing the federal delegation on the peninsula.
In light of this situation, the head of the regional office emphasized the urgent need to join institutional forces to protect the region’s most valuable asset.
“We aim to foster closer collaboration with local authorities to ensure greater oversight, as the environmental sector has taken a severe hit; ultimately, if our natural resources are not healthy, it will have a detrimental impact on tourism investment.”
Source: sipse
