|
Tulúm, heritage menaced by urban development
El Universal Palenque, Chiapas – December 2008.
 In an interview, the president of the National Council on Archaeology recalled that what is at stake in that Quintana Roo state municipality are not only the mangroves, but the beaches, the jungle and even the archaeological sites.
Nonetheless, he considered, today it is a legal problem not only within the scope of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), but that of the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) and National Parks, as this is a complex matter, “that we see throughout the whole world: fast and easy money”.
According to the official, it is a question of a problem between “powers”, hence solving it is a question of definition; someone has to address the matter, the authorities are already doing so and seem to be on the right course.
When inquired about the existence of other developments posing a risk our heritage, he answered “yes and no”.
To the archaeologist, participating in the VI Palenque Round Table from the 16 to the 21 of November, “one cannot freeze the country for the sake of its past, what we have to do is to preserve the most important, what has a large amount of remnants and a specific relevance”.
We are not talking about a monumental site, he clarified, it could well be a small hunters-gatherers hamlet, according to its importance, there is an office dedicated to salvage with the objective of making development compatible with research.
For instance, he commented, when you want to lay an electric power line, first you do the archaeological salvation work, recuperating information and proceeding with the job, “if not done so, the country would come to a halt, we would have no cities, it is not an easy question”, he added.
On the existence of means to preserve the archaeological property beyond their natural environment, García Moll recalled that according to law, the one doing the building is the one that has to pay for it.
 Presently, he said, we have very good agreements with enterprises such as Luz y Fuerza del Centro (Central Light and Power) or Teléfonos de México (Mexican Telephones), who do a previous tour to determine whether it is convenient to develop certain lines.
He recalled that it is the job of the National Archaeological Council “to say yes or no, and if it is no, to say how it could be done” it is possible in these cases to recommend a new route and it is usually done because it is possible, though sometimes these are not feasible.
In the same line of thought, the director of the Yaxchilán Archaeological Project added that they have worked very adequately with the public instances and with private companies as well, because they have to follow the same rules.
The recommendation is, in the case of Tulúm, he summed up, whoever has to participate has to make decisions, because “the project we want for our country is at stake”.
Regarding the construction of the Cancún-Tulum corridor, Tulúm National Park is being affected by urban construction, the sacking of plants, the construction of a touristic train, the presence of commercial stands selling arts and crafts to tourists and the huge amount of garbage left in the mangroves and deciduous forest zones.
 The effects of urban development in the area were the center of discussion when the Environmental Protection Agency (Profepa) decided to shut down all the hotels it considered violated the present laws protecting the environment, forestry laws, and rights to the use of land, threatening to even demolish them, even when they were given an “amparo” (a resource within the Mexican constitution which provides protection to citizens against the action of the state).
The executive branch, through its Ministry for the Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat), put forward a constitutional controversy versus the Solidaridad municipality trying to keep the archaeological zone and national park of Tulúm as a protected area.
This contradicts the Urban Development Plan approved last April 28 by the state government, which would legally permit the proliferation of hotels, restaurants and businesses in an area considered of enormous richness of plants, water, wild life and minerals. The plan has been suspended for the time being until it is determined whether its implementation is viable or not.
Email to a friend Source: http://www.presidencia.gob.mx/
Feedback about this Article
Previous Articles
Puerto Vallarta Photo Gallery
Riviera Nayarit Photo Gallery |
Current
Weather Report
