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COZUMEL, QUINTANA ROO, 20 February 1996 -- Greenpeace activists today chained themselves to cranes and hung a banner reading "Stop the Pier, save the coral" to halt the construction of a new pier on the Playa Paraiso. The activists are protesting against the destruction of the coral reef within a Refuge Zone for the Protection of Marine Wildlife.
"It is unacceptable to sacrifice this fragile and important ecosystem and to break the environmental regulations for the sake of financial gain," said Fernando Bejarano of Greenpeace Mexico. "Greenpeace supports the local and national groups that oppose the construction of a pier in a protected zone."
The pier project does not have a license for commercial use and has strong opposition from local people and other environmental groups. However the environmental authorities have permitted the construction of the pier. The plans include a terminal building for passengers, the access to the pier terminal of tourist cruises, a parking area, a golf course, a shopping centre and a Club Resort.
Environmentalists and divers of Cozumel have witnessed the damage caused by the construction of the pier and the destruction of the coral reef of El Paraiso with the traffic of a large number of tourist cruiseliners.
The local groups propose that the construction of the pier should be near the Centre of Cozumel where there would be a lower risk of destroying the fragile coral reef.
The Greenpeace flagship, Moby Dick is in the third week of her tour "In Defense of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, having made stops at Veracruz State and the State of Tabasco. The next leg of the tour is expected to take the Moby Dick to Central America.
For information, contact: Fernando Bejarano, Cozumel, Q.Roo,(5) 987 20051/21528, or Alejandro Calvillo, Greenpeace Mexico, +525 5369055, or Moby Dick, +874 1302 403 ($10.00/min).
For footage and photos, please contact the Moby Dick