The Grand Hyatt Hotel in Playa Del Carmen has installed a series of structures, known as "whales", as an artificial barrier along its beachfront. This move is part of an effort to curb beach erosion. The hotel has received a federal permit for this project from the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat).
Lourdes Várguez Ocampo, the head of the Secretariat of Environment and Climate Change in Solidaridad, confirmed the permit. She explained that the local municipality was not informed about the request for this barrier, which was granted in September.
According to Ocampo, the municipality's role is to monitor the operation of these structures. They are designed to collect sand and help in beach restoration. Over the coming months, the municipality will review the impact of these barriers to ensure they do not harm neighboring beaches. If they cause damage, they could potentially be removed.
Ocampo stated that these are the first such structures to be installed in the coastal zone of Solidaridad. They are expected to last for five years. The installation is part of the Hyatt hotel's ongoing efforts to restore the sand areas of its beach, for which they had requested an Environmental Impact Statement.
It's worth noting that this is not the first time this area has been affected by private interests. Over a decade ago, the mangrove in this section was destroyed for the construction of the Hyatt hotel.
The approval process for this project has been criticized by the environmentalist association MOCE Yax Cuxtal. They argue that the process was irregular, as the project was published as being in Cozumel, which led to it being overlooked by the residents of Solidaridad.
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