Collapse, contamination: Mexican scientists sound alarm over Mayan Train

Record ID: 1705221

  • Title: Collapse, contamination: Mexican scientists sound alarm over Mayan Train
  • Date: 4th January 2023
  • Summary: UAYMA, YUCATAN, MEXICO (FILE - MAY 16, 2022) (REUTERS) WORKERS BUILDING RAILWAY RAIL WORKERS WORKING ON RAILS VARIOUS OF MACHINERY WORKING ON BUILDING RAILWAY VARIOUS OF EXCAVATOR REMOVING BRANCHES FROM THE SOIL WHERE THE RAILWAY WILL BE BUILT TENABO, CAMPECHE, MEXICO (FILE - MAY 10, 2022) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF WORKERS ASSEMBLING STRUCTURE BEFORE BUILDING THE RAILWAY EXCAVATOR REMOVING LAND LAZARO CARDENAS, QUINTANA ROO, MEXICO (FILE - MARCH 3, 2022) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF WORKERS CUTTING DOWN TREES TO CLEAR LAND TO BUILD A RAILWAY SIGN READING (Spanish): "Drive with caution. Construction works for Tren Maya in the next kilometers ahead" MACHINERY WORKING ON RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION
  • Embargoed: 18th January 2023 11:18
  • Keywords: Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador Environment Jungle Maya Mexico Railway Tren maya Yucatan
  • Location: VARIOUS LOCATIONS, MEXICO
  • City: VARIOUS LOCATIONS, MEXICO
  • Country: Mexico
  • Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,South America / Central America,North America
  • Reuters ID: LVA001001003012023RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:Pristine wilderness and ancient cave systems beneath the jungle floor of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula are critically endangered by the Mexican government railway project - known as the Tren Maya - and its hasty construction, droves of scientists and environmental activists say.
    The railway "is splitting the jungle in half," said Ismael Lara, a guide who takes tourists to a cave that shelters millions of bats near the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve. Lara fears the train, due to pass close by, will disrupt wildlife routes and attract too much development to fragile ecosystems.
    Over almost a year, Reuters photographed construction at points along the full length of the planned rail track, documenting the evolution of the flagship project which Lopez Obrador has pledged to finish by the end of 2023.
    The 1,470 km (910 miles) of rail is set to run through the Yucatan Peninsula and connect Mexico's top tourist destination Cancun to the ancient Mayan temples of Chichen Itza and Palenque.
    It has deeply divided Mexicans and the controversies surrounding the construction exemplify the struggles developing countries across the globe face to balance economic progress with environmental responsibility.
    FONATUR, Mexico's tourism agency charged with the project, has said the railway will lift more than a million people out of poverty and could create up to 715,000 new jobs by 2030.
    Construction costs are seen at up to $20 billion, Lopez Obrador said in July.
    In his eyes, the railway will bring modern connectivity to areas for generations deprived of significant economic benefits.
    The Tren Maya route cuts a swathe up to 14 meters (46 ft) wide through some of the world's most unique ecosystems, bringing the modern world closer to vulnerable species such as jaguars - and bats.
    It will pass above a system of thousands of subterranean caves carved out from the region's soft limestone bedrock by water over millions of years.
    Crystalline pools known as cenotes punctuate the Yucatan peninsula, where the limestone surface has fallen in to expose the groundwater. The world's longest-known underground river passes through the caves, which have also been the site of discoveries such as ancient human fossils and Maya artifacts like a canoe estimated to be more than 1,000 years old.
    Environmentalist Cristina Nolasco told Reuters they have spotted construction material leaking into the cave affecting the potable water supplied to the people and mammals living on the peninsula.
    Despite the concerns about the railway, it has the support of many in villages who for generations have been largely forgotten in national development plans.
    In Xkuncheil, a small dusty town of about 140 people on Section 2 of the train that runs through Campeche state, Luz Elba Damas Jimenez, 69, owns a small store selling soda and snacks near the tracks. Many of her neighbors, especially the young men, are working on the project, she said. She also has more customers now.
    (Production: Jose Luis Gonzalez, Manuel Carrillo, Rodolfo Pena Roja, Anna Portella)
  • Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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