ID: 1743
Presenting Author: Luis E. Montañez-Cartaxo
Session: 652 - EA in Latin America: Bridging Infrastructure and Communities for Sustainable Development
Status: pending
Learn from the multiple failures in planning, communication, public consultation, environmental and social assessments of the Maya Train megaproject, and avoid repeating these mistakes.
The Maya Train megaproject is 1,500 km long and encircles the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. It was conceived by the federal government to “boost ecotourism, strengthen social development, promote and safeguard Mayan culture, and protect and rehabilitate the environment”. The route runs primarily across karstic flat terrain and through low and medium subdeciduous forests with varying degrees of conservation.
The environmental and social studies began very late and were deficient. Six environmental impact assessments were done for the same number of construction sections instead of a project SEA, and public consultations were also conducted piecemeal on the already defined route, without considering the inhabitants of the central region of the peninsula, mainly very poor Indigenous Mayans, who were the intended main beneficiaries of the project.
There were numerous demonstrations against the project, which led to court decisions suspending, at least temporarily, the works. The government practically ignored these court decisions and finally decided to designate the works as a national security project and thus skip the administrative procedures for a year, including the EIAs for the sections that were still pending at that time.
The stretch along the coast of the state of Quintana Roo, parallel to the peninsula’s Eastern coast, was developed in a highly karstic area with numerous sinkholes, cenotes, dolines, lagoons, and floodplains. These natural structures were altered by the installation of deep foundations for the train viaducts, altering the quality of the groundwater.
CEO of the consulting firm ENE-SUS. President of the Mexican Council for Impact Assessment (COIMIMPACT). Former IAIA President. Sustainability Committee member of the Mexican Civil Engineers College.