I am not sure what the problem is with the way this forum sends email alerts to its threads, but the email notice I got shows Deepsea21 saying "I'm not sure how he [El Graduado] can claim 'This government takes environmental laws and Cozumel's environment seriously' given the cruise port expansions over the years with yet another one now being considered..." and now Deepsea21's post doesn't not show this statement.
Dave also posted "Government talks the good talk about the environment, and actually enforce some pretty serious rules AT TIMES. But over and over during my 27 years here I have seen those rules overlooked or ignored when the rich and powerful are involved."
I would like to address both of these statements at the same time.
Guys, I agree with what you are saying, BUT... you are talking about the "past 27 years" in one post and "over the years" on the other. I was being specific when I said "this government", meaning the current municipio's government that was elected a year ago and was not a party to the deeds (or lack of action) by previous governments. I am estimating what will happen in the future based on what this current government does and not what previous governments have done.
The current presidente of Cozumel, Pedro Joaquin Delbouis, is keenly aware of the problems with the reefs, but he is not in charge of the federal reef park. He has some sway, but it is a national park, not a municipal park. He and his administration (this current government) can only do so much.
Pedro is very pro-scuba. Did you know he was the organizer and founder of ScubaFest Cozumel? The annual scuba festival, which was very focused on ecology and marine ecosystems, brought in speakers (scientists, ecologists, and the like) from all over the world to make presentations at the Museo de la Isla and other places during each year's events. Pedro personally bankrolled much of the festival's expenses, because it was within his personal financial ability. The festival and the talks and seminars were not something the past municipal governments put on; it was a personal project of Pedro's. Other interested groups and individuals joined in to help, both logistically and financially, but it was not a municipal government-sponsored event by the previous municipal governments.
As far as another cruise ship pier goes, you may not like the idea, but, many people on Cozumel do like the idea. The final decision on whether or not another pier is built on the island will be made by the people living on Cozumel. It has to go through a public hearing process. That is the same process that turned down (twice) the improvements at the property on the coast at Palancar that everyone has been talking about.
You can certainly voice your preferences, but your voice represents a minority of the people, and unless you are a voting resident of Cozumel, it won't help much. I am not saying I am personally in favor of more piers or cruise ships, just that there are more people on Cozumel who earn livings from what crumbs the cruisers drop in Cozumel than there are people who making a living from the diving industry. Things change over the years and the amount of money coming into Cozumel from cruise ships is one of them.
If the people of Cozumel do approve (and by approve, I mean do not oppose) a new cruise ship pier, I doubt that it will be built within the park boundaries. So far, it seems they are favoring somewhere south of the passenger ferry pier and north of the park boundary.
Anyway, to make a long post longer, I just wish that my posts were clearer and had not been misconstrued to make you think that I was saying that the previous administrations were blemish-free, in terms of their environmental records.
