Seaweed Invasion! Temporal Changes in Beach Conditions Lead to Increasing Cenote Usage and Contamination in the Riviera Maya

Diego Armando Casas-Beltrán, Courtney Maloof Gallaher, Emely Hernandez Yac, Karelys Febles Moreno, Kenneth Voglesonger, Rosa María Leal-Bautista and Melissa Lenczewski
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Diego Armando Casas-Beltrán: CONACYT-Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán, Unidad de Ciencias del Agua, Cancún, Q. ROO 77524, Mexico
Courtney Maloof Gallaher: Department of Geographic and Atmospheric Sciences, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115, USA
Emely Hernandez Yac: University of California Merced, Merced, CA 95343, USA
Karelys Febles Moreno: Pontificia Universidad Católica de Puerto Rico, Ponce, PR 00717, USA
Kenneth Voglesonger: Department of Earth Science, Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, IL 60625, USA
Rosa María Leal-Bautista: CONACYT-Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán, Unidad de Ciencias del Agua, Cancún, Q. ROO 77524, Mexico
Melissa Lenczewski: Department of Geology and Environmental Geosciences, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115, USA

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 6, 1-22

Abstract: Since 2011, tourism to Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula has been heavily impacted by large masses of sargassum seaweed washing up on the beaches, with the largest seaweed event occurring in 2019. Seaweed deters beach tourism, potentially shifting tourism inland towards other activities such as swimming in cenotes (sinkholes). Our mixed methods study combined data from surveys of visitors to the region, interviews with tourists and tour operators, thematic analysis of newspaper articles, laws and policies and analysis of water samples from a cenote to understand the environmental impact on cenotes of this shifting tourism industry. We identified intentional efforts by the tourism industry to encourage cenote tourism in response to the seaweed problem, and our survey and interview data confirmed that tourists are choosing to visit cenotes in lieu of beaches. Water samples from one tourist cenote in 2019 indicated increased pollution relative to previous years. Current regulations and management of tourist cenotes are weak, creating the potential for significant long term harm to the environment and to the water sovereignty of surrounding communities. Regulation of cenotes should be strengthened to protect these fragile karst ecosystems and to give local and indigenous residents a formal voice in the management process.

Keywords: Mexico; Cancun; tourism; water; seaweed; sargassum; climate change; adaptation; cenotes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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