SAVE THE CENOTES
Text by Michael Menduno
An apocalyptic nightmare is threatening the fragile cenotes and underground water ways of Riviera Maya, the stretch of Caribbean coastline on Mexico’s northeastern Yucatán Peninsula. The Mexican government plans to build a train corridor through the jungle in what’s been reported to be an ill-conceived, poorly planned project known as the "Tren Maya". It has already disrupted tourism, and resulted in the expropriation of local Mayan lands. Wide swaths of the jungle will be clear cut and pillars will be sunk into the longest flooded cave systems on the planet threatening their collapse, which could likely destroy the caves and disrupt the vital flow of fresh groundwater onto coastal reefs of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System.
An apocalyptic nightmare is threatening the fragile cenotes and underground water ways of Riviera Maya, the stretch of Caribbean coastline on Mexico’s northeastern Yucatán Peninsula. The Mexican government plans to build a train corridor through the jungle in what’s been reported to be an ill-conceived, poorly planned project known as the "Tren Maya". It has already disrupted tourism, and resulted in the expropriation of local Mayan lands. Wide swaths of the jungle will be clear cut and pillars will be sunk into the longest flooded cave systems on the planet threatening their collapse, which could likely destroy the caves and disrupt the vital flow of fresh groundwater onto coastal reefs of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System.

What You can Do to Help:
- Educate yourself! Read the articles below
- Please Sign the Petition: No al Tren Maya sobre los cenotes y cuevas de Quintana Roo (No to the Mayan Train over the cenotes and caves of Quintana Roo)
- Share these articles and petition on social media
- Show your support for local dive stores and operators.
- Voice your concerns to government officials.

Further reading:
- Diver: The Imminent Destruction of Mexico’s Best Dive Sites – One Track at a Time by Natalie Gibb (2.10.22)
- X-Ray: Dive community up in arms over Tren Maya railway project by Larry Cohen (2.14.22)
- DIVE: Divers fear Yucatán train could destroy cenotes by Mark Crowley Russell (2.17.22)
- France 24: Mayan Train, the president's pet project exposing Mexico's cracks (12.15.21)
- France 24 (video): 'Ecocidal': Mexico's 'Maya Train' divides communities (12.15.22)
- Aljezerra: Mexico’s Mayan train suspension divides Indigenous community (4.21.21)
Posted in DAN Europe Blog, Research, Underwater Conservation
Tagged with Cenotes, Caves, Underground waterways, Riviera Maya, Tullum, Mexico
Tagged with Cenotes, Caves, Underground waterways, Riviera Maya, Tullum, Mexico
Categories
2023
January
March
Demo DiversCape Marine Research and Diver DevelopmentKaboom!....The Big Oxygen Safety IssueTerrific Freedive Mode“LIGHTS, Film, Action!”Scuba Nudi ClothingDive into Freedive InstructionThe Benefits of Being BaldThe Inhaca Ocean Alliance.Special Forces DiverToughing It Out Is DangerousWhat Dive Computers Don\'t Know | PART 2
April
July
August
September
Avoid Diving With EarplugsKwaZulu Natal shipwrecks: The ProduceDive in the Fast Lane with DPVsLearning from Success. Learning from MistakeLiability in ContextUnderwater Crime Scene InvestigatorsTravel Smarter: Personal Safety While TravelingDive Boat Etiquette – From Yachts to rubber ducksThe Parting ShotMismatched Scuba Valves to Cylinder OutletsPredive Warm-UpWeight loss for diversTara Panton's Cape NudibranchsRESEARCHER PROFILE: Petar Denoble: Solving practical issues for diversMonitoring Cardiac Health in Scuba Divers
2022
January
February
UNCERTAINTY AFTER DIVING: Case Report and Recommendations #1.UNCERTAINTY AFTER DIVING: Case Report and Recommendations #2UNCERTAINTY AFTER DIVING: Case Report and Recommendations #3UNCERTAINTY AFTER DIVING: Case Report and Recommendations #4DIVERS LOSING ACCESS TO EMERGENCY CAREPreventing Breathing gas Contamination
March
When Should the Rescue Begin?Celebrating Young and Old in Turks and CaicosScuba Cylinder RundownChasing WeedsUnderwater Smartphone PhotographyAir and a SpareUnderwater Photographer: Fred BuyleBuilding Better BalanceLow-Visibility DivingMore Than a Sore ShoulderNot Only for DivingLaryngospasm and AnxietyPulmonary Hypertension and DivingTitan Meets TitanicPool Operation: Know Before you GoThe Argonaut Octopus and the jellyfishShort but Beautiful Lives
April
A Sense of PurposeMexico’s Sardine RunHigh-Pressure Hose injuriesA Hole in My HeartGoing UpConcussion and Return to DivingMarfan Syndrome Recommendations.South African Sardine Run by Walter BernardisSouth African Sardine Run By ProdiveSardine Run Port Elizabeth by ProDiveSardine Run Port St Johns by ProDiveScuba Diving In MauritiusScuba Diving in TanzaniaScuba Diving in the SeychellesScuba Diving in Nosy BeScuba Diving in MalawiScuba Diving in KenyaScuba Diving in South AfricaScuba Diving in Mozambique