BUILDING INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES TO FOSTER BETTER-INFORMED PRACTICES OF TOURISM IN THE CAVES OF THE YUCATAN PENINSULA (MEXICO)

The word “cenote” (from the Mayan word dzonot) describes sinkholes through which groundwater may be accessed. Many cenotes are access points to underwater karst cave systems and all are windows into the groundwater aquifer. In terms of ecological habitats, cenotes are similar to blue holes in Belize and Bahamas and to other water filled caves in the Caribbean.

In the Yucatan Peninsula (Mexico), show caves and cenotes have become an important source of income, especially for small indigenous communities. With the accelerated urban growth and the most recent railway construction (https://apnews.com/projects/mexico-tren-maya-climate-yucatan//), even the smallest rural communities are expected to suddenly be prepared to receive hundreds of visitors demanding new tourist attractions and services. The accelerated urban growth is moving faster than the very recent attempts to develop and implement a legal framework specific to cenotes in the region, a situation that is currently jeopardizing the ecological value, the ecosystems services and the geocultural significance of these very unique underground locations.

This presentation will introduce the historical background behind the use of cenotes as tourist destinations in the Yucatan Peninsula and present some contrasting examples in terms of management and conservation. Karst Lab México, a non-for-profit organization, facilitates the dialogue between cave stakeholders of the Yucatan Peninsula to foster better-informed decisions in the face of development and tourism. More recently, we have partnered with U.S. institutions (Western Kentucky University, Mammoth Cave National Park, Cave Research Foundation) to foster a binational exchange that includes collaborations at different levels of administration (top-down and bottom-up), with the overall aim of learning from successes and failures, regarding the use of show caves as a source of income and the challenges of ensuring the preservation of their cultural, scientific and aesthetic values.