Just a month ago, if you passed by Tajamar in Cancún, Mexico you would have seen 57 hectares of thriving mangrove forest lining the coast. Today, only stumps remain.
For years, hundreds of citizens worked to protect the Tajamar mangroves, one last swathe of wetlands in tourist-dominated Cancún.
But in the middle of the night on 16 January, developers hoping to build a new resort – ‘Malecón Tajamar’ – made their move. Under cover of darkness, they tore down the mangroves.
Local authorities allowed this destruction despite evidence that those promoting the resort had provided highly irregular information – even denying the mangroves were there at all.
Ultimately, the battle between these profit-driven developers and the local community came down to one question:
After their destruction became public knowledge, thousands of people across Mexico stood with the community protesters in outrage. And their voices made a huge impact.
In response to a case brought to court by Greenpeace Mexico and ally organisations, a judge has ordered a moratorium on all work for the Tajamar project.
Read the full article: Cancún’s mangroves are destroyed. But hope grows again! – The Ecologist
