THE MAYA TRAIN
A 25 billion dollar megainfrastructure project and ecological catastrophe in the Yucatán
PARTNERS
This page is currently under construction, but feel free to scroll down and take a look as it comes together!
The Setup
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer scelerisque elit nec massa placerat, at volutpat lacus mollis. Proin et pretium orci. Sed magna turpis, auctor vitae tellus vitae, sagittis mattis orci. Aliquam congue quam vitae dui fermentum eleifend. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Pellentesque lacinia tellus mi, eu ultricies sem vehicula sit amet. Quisque vel ornare diam, id semper odio. Nulla viverra, enim non sodales sollicitudin, nisl orci iaculis justo, ac feugiat risus mi in lacus. Donec magna mi, pulvinar ut fermentum dapibus, commodo et magna.
Sed massa dui, gravida non sodales quis, sollicitudin laoreet ante. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Phasellus a nibh tempor, fringilla ante vitae, vehicula ligula. Proin molestie magna non erat tristique tempor. Vivamus elementum venenatis felis, vel fermentum risus placerat id. Aenean fermentum sem ut purus porttitor blandit. Morbi luctus consequat magna in pretium. Cras eget lorem elit. Suspendisse potenti. Phasellus venenatis dictum interdum. Proin sed suscipit ex, sagittis tristique tellus. Praesent molestie molestie erat vitae laoreet. Integer volutpat nulla ut purus pharetra convallis. Vivamus sapien urna, egestas quis dapibus in, commodo id sapien.
Donec semper dignissim eros, non accumsan ante cursus vitae. Ut cursus orci quis tristique placerat. Cras feugiat malesuada eros, sed pretium massa congue in. Phasellus vitae nisi at sapien commodo accumsan. Ut at egestas turpis. Cras quis malesuada sapien. Nullam quis felis ac purus rutrum porta. Sed bibendum felis at nisl hendrerit viverra. Donec sagittis auctor elementum. In eleifend sollicitudin lectus, vitae eleifend ex condimentum a. Mauris convallis urna ut facilisis faucibus.
Nullam in turpis in purus eleifend maximus vel eleifend mi. Quisque vulputate malesuada tellus in vestibulum. Morbi molestie a purus id sodales. Aenean ullamcorper fringilla convallis. Aenean feugiat lacus at lacus ullamcorper ullamcorper. Donec dapibus neque sed sollicitudin imperdiet. Cras at pulvinar leo. Morbi at justo rutrum, consequat enim ut, lobortis justo.
Jaguar biologist Diana Friedeberg in Yorogana Cave, recently discovered after workers cleared a strip of jungle west of Playa Del Carmen for the construction of the Maya Train. The cave is connected to the Yucatan’s underground water system.
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Summary of first key point for the Maya Train project.
Summary of the second key point for the Maya Train project.
Summary of the third key point for the Maya Train project.
Spider monkeys, a mother and child, swing through the trees in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve… the heart of jaguar country in Mexico.
“To protect jaguars, we identify core populations which we call Jaguar Conservation Units, and the biological corridors that unite them… then we get our boots on the ground.”
—Diana Friedeberg
In one the Yucatan’s many cenotes, a freediver passes the point of negative buoyancy and begins her freefall toward the abyss. For ancient Maya, these underwater caverns were entrances to an underworld they called Xibalba, or ‘the place of darkness.’ They also contain the peninsula’s only fresh water source for people and animals, and are being contaminated by rampant, unsustainable development.
Production
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer scelerisque elit nec massa placerat, at volutpat lacus mollis. Proin et pretium orci. Sed magna turpis, auctor vitae tellus vitae, sagittis mattis orci. Aliquam congue quam vitae dui fermentum eleifend. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Pellentesque lacinia tellus mi, eu ultricies sem vehicula sit amet. Quisque vel ornare diam, id semper odio. Nulla viverra, enim non sodales sollicitudin, nisl orci iaculis justo, ac feugiat risus mi in lacus. Donec magna mi, pulvinar ut fermentum dapibus, commodo et magna.
Sed massa dui, gravida non sodales quis, sollicitudin laoreet ante. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Phasellus a nibh tempor, fringilla ante vitae, vehicula ligula. Proin molestie magna non erat tristique tempor. Vivamus elementum venenatis felis, vel fermentum risus placerat id. Aenean fermentum sem ut purus porttitor blandit. Morbi luctus consequat magna in pretium. Cras eget lorem elit. Suspendisse potenti. Phasellus venenatis dictum interdum. Proin sed suscipit ex, sagittis tristique tellus. Praesent molestie molestie erat vitae laoreet. Integer volutpat nulla ut purus pharetra convallis. Vivamus sapien urna, egestas quis dapibus in, commodo id sapien.
Donec semper dignissim eros, non accumsan ante cursus vitae. Ut cursus orci quis tristique placerat. Cras feugiat malesuada eros, sed pretium massa congue in. Phasellus vitae nisi at sapien commodo accumsan. Ut at egestas turpis. Cras quis malesuada sapien. Nullam quis felis ac purus rutrum porta. Sed bibendum felis at nisl hendrerit viverra. Donec sagittis auctor elementum. In eleifend sollicitudin lectus, vitae eleifend ex condimentum a. Mauris convallis urna ut facilisis faucibus.
Nullam in turpis in purus eleifend maximus vel eleifend mi. Quisque vulputate malesuada tellus in vestibulum. Morbi molestie a purus id sodales. Aenean ullamcorper fringilla convallis. Aenean feugiat lacus at lacus ullamcorper ullamcorper. Donec dapibus neque sed sollicitudin imperdiet. Cras at pulvinar leo. Morbi at justo rutrum, consequat enim ut, lobortis justo.
Tourism is big business in the Yucatan… for the government, for businesses, and for cartels, who use the region to launder money, sell product to tourists, and extort locals through protection rackets.
“The northern stronghold of the jaguar is the Yucatan Peninsula and its connections to associated Jaguar Conservation Units, or core populations… this northern core of jaguars is now threatened with a development project that could significantly diminish its presence and security.”
—Howard Quigley
Outcomes
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer scelerisque elit nec massa placerat, at volutpat lacus mollis. Proin et pretium orci. Sed magna turpis, auctor vitae tellus vitae, sagittis mattis orci. Aliquam congue quam vitae dui fermentum eleifend. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Pellentesque lacinia tellus mi, eu ultricies sem vehicula sit amet. Quisque vel ornare diam, id semper odio. Nulla viverra, enim non sodales sollicitudin, nisl orci iaculis justo, ac feugiat risus mi in lacus. Donec magna mi, pulvinar ut fermentum dapibus, commodo et magna.
Sed massa dui, gravida non sodales quis, sollicitudin laoreet ante. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Phasellus a nibh tempor, fringilla ante vitae, vehicula ligula. Proin molestie magna non erat tristique tempor. Vivamus elementum venenatis felis, vel fermentum risus placerat id. Aenean fermentum sem ut purus porttitor blandit. Morbi luctus consequat magna in pretium. Cras eget lorem elit. Suspendisse potenti. Phasellus venenatis dictum interdum. Proin sed suscipit ex, sagittis tristique tellus. Praesent molestie molestie erat vitae laoreet. Integer volutpat nulla ut purus pharetra convallis. Vivamus sapien urna, egestas quis dapibus in, commodo id sapien.
Donec semper dignissim eros, non accumsan ante cursus vitae. Ut cursus orci quis tristique placerat. Cras feugiat malesuada eros, sed pretium massa congue in. Phasellus vitae nisi at sapien commodo accumsan. Ut at egestas turpis. Cras quis malesuada sapien. Nullam quis felis ac purus rutrum porta. Sed bibendum felis at nisl hendrerit viverra. Donec sagittis auctor elementum. In eleifend sollicitudin lectus, vitae eleifend ex condimentum a. Mauris convallis urna ut facilisis faucibus.
Nullam in turpis in purus eleifend maximus vel eleifend mi. Quisque vulputate malesuada tellus in vestibulum. Morbi molestie a purus id sodales. Aenean ullamcorper fringilla convallis. Aenean feugiat lacus at lacus ullamcorper ullamcorper. Donec dapibus neque sed sollicitudin imperdiet. Cras at pulvinar leo. Morbi at justo rutrum, consequat enim ut, lobortis justo.
A Maya dancer performs at an eco-park south of Cancun called Cenotes Zapote. While many hotels and tourists parks develop with little thought for the environment or the jaguar, Cenotes Zapote tries to be an eco-friendly alternative: maintaining reasonable carrying capacity, managing waste disposal and allowing jaguars to pass freely through their land.
A rough cut trailer of the jaguar series we created for Journey of the Jaguar. Sadly, the project was discontinued after Howard’s untimely passing in 2022. I’m currently reworking the material for a mid-length documentary.
I love involving people in our video productions. Here, a boy films as his father demonstrates how to set up a camera traps for Panthera’s jaguar studies in the area.