New railroad in Mexico will destroy nature of Mayan times
2023.01.04 09:42
New railroad in Mexico will destroy nature of Mayan times
Budrigannews.com – Since the time of the ancient Maya, very little has changed in the remote southern jungles of Mexico.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador believes that the Tren Maya, a railway his government is building, will bring modern connectivity to areas that have been deprived of significant economic benefits for generations.
Numerous scientists and environmentalists, on the other hand, contend that the railway’s hasty construction poses a serious threat to the virgin wilderness and ancient cave systems beneath the jungle floor.
Ismael Lara, a tour guide who takes tourists to a cave that houses millions of bats near the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, stated that the railway “is splitting the jungle in half.” Lara fears the train, because of cruise nearby, will disturb untamed life courses and draw in an excessive amount of improvement to delicate environments.
Reuters documented the development of the flagship project, which Lopez Obrador has pledged to finish by the end of 2023, by taking photographs of construction at points along the entire length of the planned rail track over the course of nearly a year.
The 1,470 kilometers (910 miles) of rail are scheduled to connect Cancun, Mexico’s most popular tourist destination, with the ancient Mayan temples of Chichen Itza and Palenque via diesel and electric trains.
Mexicans are deeply divided about the railroad, and the controversies surrounding its construction show how difficult it is for developing nations to strike a balance between economic progress and environmental responsibility.
The railway, according to Mexico’s tourism agency FONATUR, which is in charge of the project, will help more than a million people escape poverty and could lead to the creation of up to 715,000 new jobs by 2030. According to Lopez Obrador’s statement in July, construction costs could reach $20 billion.
Scientists and activists, on the other hand, contend that the government slashed environmental risk assessments in an effort to complete the project while Lopez Obrador is still in office, despite the fact that it is already billions of dollars over budget and behind schedule.
Experts from the United Nations urged the government to protect the environment in accordance with global standards in December, warning that the railway’s status as a national security project allowed the government to circumvent usual environmental safeguards.
The speed with which the studies were produced was supported by FONATUR. In response to questions from Reuters, it stated, “Years are not required; expertise, knowledge, and integration capacity are required.” It refused to discuss the UN statement.
The Tren Maya route brings the modern world closer to endangered species like jaguars and bats by cutting a swath up to 14 meters (46 feet) wide through some of the world’s most unique ecosystems.
It will travel above a network of thousands of subterranean caves formed by water over millions of years in the region’s soft limestone bedrock.
The Yucatan peninsula is punctuated by crystalline pools, or cenotes, where the limestone surface has caved in to reveal the groundwater. The world’s longest realized underground stream goes through the caverns, which have likewise been the site of disclosures, for example, old human fossils and Maya relics like a kayak assessed to be over 1,000 years of age.
Emiliano Monroy-Rios, a Mexican geochemist employed by Northwestern (NASDAQ:), asserts that the railway runs the risk of breaking through the fragile ground, possibly into caves below that have yet to be explored. university researcher who has conducted extensive research on the cenotes and caves in the region.
Diesel, he adds, could likewise spill into the organization of underground pools and streams, the fundamental wellspring of new water on the landmass.
According to a number of scientists Reuters spoke with, less than 20% of the subterranean system is thought to have been mapped, so damage like this could delay significant geological discoveries.
Environmental impacts have been adequately mitigated, according to the government’s environmental impact study for Section 5, the most contentious section. According to the study, the risk of collapse was taken into account when designing the tracks, and a prevention program will monitor the area.
In open letters, dozens of scientists express their disagreement, claiming that the assessments are plagued by flaws such as the absence of recently discovered caves, outdated data, and expert input from local hydrologists.
Fernanda Lases, a scientist at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) based in Merida, stated, “They don’t want to recognize the fragility of the land,” describing the issues discovered as “highly worrisome.”
The publication has been edited to remove the names of the 70 experts who participated in the government study.
Monroy-Rios, who claims he was never contacted by the report’s authors, obtained one piece of research that the government used to support its conclusions. Any infrastructure project in the region will require extensive surveillance and monitoring, according to his research. He claims that this has not occurred.
Monroy-Rios stated, “I guess their conclusions were pre-formatted.” A component of the issue is that they want to complete it quickly. There is not enough time for proper investigation.
Under oath, an expert who participated in the reports told Reuters that the work had been completed quickly.
The expert stated, “There was pressure, especially due to delivery times.”
The expert expressed concern that the government would not devote the necessary resources to train maintenance or adequately mitigate the risks that experts had highlighted in the government’s impact studies.
According to FONATUR, the project would eventually have access to resources and follow-up care, including environmental protection programs.
According to the agency’s statement to Reuters, “The Mayan Train project is of course safe, monitored, and regulated by the environmental authorities as has happened up to this point.”
Inecol, Mexico’s environment organization which delivered the reports, didn’t answer rehashed demands for input. A request for clarification was not answered by a Lopez Obrador spokesperson.
Even though there are concerns about the railway, many villages that have felt neglected by national development plans for decades support it.
Luz Elba Damas Jimenez, 69, owns a small store near the tracks in Xkuncheil, a dusty town of about 140 people on Section 2 of the train that travels through Campeche state. The store sells soda and snacks. She stated that many of her neighbors, particularly the young men, are working on the project. Additionally, she now has more clients.
She stated, “The government is working on good things for the country… Sometimes these small towns just don’t have work, but now they have jobs.” In reality, we have benefited.
Martha Rosa Rosado, who was offered an administration payout to move when a prior plan for the tracks was set to go through her home in Campeche’s Camino Genuine area, repeated those opinions.
“The southeast is never remembered by any government. As she grilled pork in front of her 40-year-old residence, she said, “Everything goes to the north, and the southeast is forgotten.”
A group of volunteers, donning helmets and headlamps, descend into the caves on weekends in Playa del Carmen, some 450 kilometers (280 miles) away, close to the tourist-packed beach resorts.
The group’s biologist Roberto Rojo asserts that the train will threaten the entire ecosystem, both above and below ground.
Inside one cave directly below where the train is scheduled to pass, Rojo stated, “They are doing studies now that needed to be done at least four years ago.”
The water that was accumulating at his feet dries out the tree roots that were dangling like coarse rope from the ceiling of the cave behind him.
This is our existence. He stated, “We are jeopardizing the stability of this ecosystem.”
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