“Mexican communities reject Chinese solar farm in Yucatan”, May 5, 2020

In February 2019, residents of the municipalities of Cuncunul and Valladolid, about 1,500 kilometres south of Mexico City, sued the Jinkosolar Investment Pte. Ltd., the Chinese company managing the Yucatán Solar Park project for violating their right to prior consultation on projects that affect their livelihoods.A judge ruled in favour of the plaintiffs since the area’s indigenous peoples were not consulted prior to the installation of the solar farm. Nor did they have complete information about the project. Despite the ruling, the company is not giving up its efforts…“We are concerned about the impact on the environment, the people who live here [and] drastic changes in the local economy as the price of goods and land rises” [a member of theAssembly of Defenders of the Múuch´ Xíinbal Territory]…The main negative consequence of the plant will be the deforestation of 206 hectares, destroying plant and wildlife habitats, according to the EIA. Vulnerable native trees would be among those lost…To moderate the impacts of the solar plant, the company proposed to create a wildlife rescue program for protected species and to preserve 45 hectares for conservation areas…