Mexico: in Cozumel, a new dock to accommodate cruise ships provokes anger
Demonstration against the construction of a fourth wharf to accommodate cruise ships in Cozumel, December 19, 2022. AFP - DAVID PAQUI
Text by: Gwendolina Duval
4 mins
Cozumel is a favorite with divers due to its coral reef and crystal clear waters.
Despite its small size, approximately 450 km² for 80,000 inhabitants, the island of Cozumel is one of the main cruise ship ports in the world.
In 2022, more than 3 million travelers reached this little paradise by means of one of these giant boats, four times more than the previous year in 2021.
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With our special correspondent in Cozumel,
In Mexico, the tourism recovery has taken place and the cruise industry is thriving globally.
So much so that the project to build yet another landing dock was launched in Cozumel a year ago to further increase the capacity for cruise passengers.
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But this intense traffic threatens the delicate ecosystem of the island and its marine reefs.
The inhabitants of the island oppose it.
They denounce the damage that this would have on the environment and the social violence caused by this mass tourism.
On January 31, their request is examined by the Constitutional Court and will demine the fate of the beautiful Cozumel.
A 2-3 hectare wharf
That day, in Cozumel, four cruise ships are parked.
It's always like this on this small island in the Mexican Caribbean which has 3 ferry terminals, Olivia Rose tells us.
“
It makes no sense
,” she says.
Along the coastal road, this activist gets annoyed.
Where swimmers dive to view the coral reef, a new landing dock of massive proportions is planned.
“
The surface of the fourth wharf would be 2-3 hectares.
It is enormous.
It's as if we added the 3 docks that already exist in Cozumel to install them here.
It would amount to duplicating the ports we already have
, ”she believes.
A group of residents contests the project
A collective of inhabitants opposes this construction.
They denounce the irregularities of the project and defend their right to well-being.
Luis Rodrigo Alcantara and Dora Uribe constantly observe the harmful effects of mass tourism.
An economy on which the island has become dependent.
“
The area where they want to dock is one of the last public beaches where I usually go swimming in the mornings.
So I'm emotionally attached to it.
In addition, I think that Cozumel has followed all these years a very exclusive development model, which is not sustainable
, ”said Luis Rodrigo Alcantara.
“
We are talking about thousands and thousands of people a day.
I always say: "If they go to the toilet, it's 6 liters per person, if everyone takes a beer, it's thousands of cans every day, a bottle of water, it's thousands of bottles."
We don't have the capacity to manage that, nor the means, we lack waste management, nor the quantity of water, nor transport… nothing ,
”
observes Dora Uribe.
In Cozumel, social inequalities have sharply increased: a third of the population lives in poverty.
“
Like many here, we are not against cruises, but against a 4th quay and against the way in which we claim to continue cruise tourism
,” assures Luis Rodrigo Alcantara.
The weakened natural environment
For oceanologist Adrian Villegas, the natural environment of Cozumel is already weakened.
Left to its own fate, the island has failed to protect itself from human activities.
"
As someone who knows the area, I can tell you that the coral reef is very deteriorated.
But there are no follow-up studies, no monitoring program from any academic institution or environmental authority.
“, he notes.
The scientist who also lives on the island assures that it cannot support additional maritime infrastructure.
"
Just the size of the wharf, which would be 800 meters, would represent a physical barrier for the currents that go from south to north of the western coast of Cozumel, and these currents are very important, because they are the ones that make the connection between biological communities,
” he continues.
The cruise industry, as a main activity, has gradually established itself in Cozumel.
It punctuates the days of shops and is gaining ground.
This is what activist Olivia Rose especially regrets when she passes by the many stretches of the coast that have already been privatized.
“
It is a pain for the people of Cozumel to miss these beaches that we all enjoyed before, to understand that we will never be able to take our children to this beach, and to realize that we have already lost it.
“, she laments.
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