Cases / Law, regulation and treaties · Mexico · 2018
Xcacel-Xcacelito turtle sanctuary, Tulum, Mexico: Semarnat refuses permits for the La Calma hotel (2018)
Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
On 31 August 2018 Semarnat refused permits for La Calma, a 520-room hotel on 26 ha fronting Xcacel-Xcacelito bay. Semarnat said the project would place both land and marine ecosystems at risk.
520 rooms on 26 haHotel refused permits: La Calma
Semarnat decision of 31 August 2018; the agency had earlier refused a 75-room project.
Semarnat decision of 31 August 2018; the agency had earlier refused a 75-room project.
Status As of the sources reviewed: Semarnat refused permits for La Calma on 31 August 2018; no later decision on that project is on record.
What?
Semarnat refused permits for La Calma, a 520-room hotel on 26 ha fronting Xcacel-Xcacelito bay; it had earlier refused a 75-room project. Mexico News Daily
Where?
Xcacel-Xcacelito bay, Tulum, Mexico. Mexico News Daily
When?
31 August 2018. Mexico News Daily
Who?
Gained
- Xcacel-Xcacelito bay and its turtle sanctuary — Permits for a 520-room hotel on 26 ha fronting the bay were refused on 31 August 2018 Mexico News Daily
Lost
- Palmares del Country (developer) — Permits for the La Calma project refused Mexico News Daily
Harmed
None on recordWhy?
Semarnat said the project would "place both land and marine ecosystems at risk". Mexico News Daily
How?
Through Semarnat's refusal of the permits for the project. Mexico News Daily
6 of 6 questions answered from the record
What happened
The record, in order.
On 31 August 2018 Semarnat refused permits for La Calma, a 520-room hotel on 26 ha fronting Xcacel-Xcacelito bay in Tulum, Mexico. The developer was Palmares del Country.
Semarnat had earlier refused a 75-room project. It said the La Calma project would "place both land and marine ecosystems at risk".
- 2018Semarnat refuses permits for the 520-room La Calma hotel on 26 ha fronting Xcacel-Xcacelito bay (31 Aug); it had earlier refused a 75-room project
What was said
Claims, in the words of those who made them.
“place both land and marine ecosystems at risk”
How it looked
What was shown, beside what was recorded.
Shown
Recorded
- Semarnat refused permits for La Calma, a 520-room hotel on 26 ha fronting Xcacel-Xcacelito bay, on 31 August 2018.
- Semarnat had earlier refused a 75-room project.
Who gained
Money that reached nature, beside money that stayed elsewhere.
Reached nature or the ground
Not published
No figure published.
Gained elsewhere
Not totalled
Currency: · Window: . All figures cover the same period. * Estimate built from cited figures.
Responses on record
- Semarnat (2018-08-31): Refused permits for La Calma and said the project would "place both land and marine ecosystems at risk". · Mexico News Daily
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.
Insurers
No insurer decision on record.
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- Insufficient Unconfirmed: a federal ruling of 5 June 2025 annulled permits for the Maiim building in Bahia Soliman; a link between that building and the Xcacel-Xcacelito sanctuary was not confirmed (Riviera Maya News).
Did the harm stop?
Semarnat refused the La Calma permits on 31 August 2018.
Who paid?
None on record.
Sources
Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers
Press and investigations
- Riviera Maya News report (article ID 17626)Riviera Maya News ·
Connected cases
Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
- CEC factual record on Mexico's enforcement for loggerheads in the Gulf of Ulloa (SEM-20-001, USMCA Chapter 24) Mexico · 2020–2024
- Semarnat (Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources) (Government) — here: Refused permits for La Calma on 31 August 2018; there: Mexican authority concerned
- Río Sonora copper sulphate spill and repair fund Mexico · 2014–2026
- Semarnat (Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources) (Government) — here: Refused permits for La Calma on 31 August 2018; there: Environment ministry; said the spill was negligence and filed a criminal complaint