A well-respected Mexican newspaper, La Jornada , has published articles investigating the transaction. We have added English translations of the articles to our page containing detailed information about X'cacel. Below is our original article about the problem. All rights reserved. The threat to X'cacel, an important sea turtle nesting beach On February 1, the government of Quintana Roo, Mexico, sold the important nesting beach at X'cacel to the Spanish development group Melia.
Reports say that Melia plans a large hotel project for the area.
Construction has already started on the adjoining beaches of Aventuras and Chemuyil, which were sold at the same time. X'cacel is the most important nesting beach in Mexico for loggerhead and Atlantic green turtles. The sale triggered an immediate protest from sea turtle biologists and environmentalists, who pointed out that development of the beach posed serious risks to the endangered species in the area, including the green and loggerhead turtles. Villanueva also said he would promote the creation of a fund that would include participation by federal and state governments, NGOs, and local residents. The fund is supposed to support the control and monitoring of the protected area.