The Spanish hotel chain Sol Meliá has won Mexican government approval to build a Caribbean coastal resort that opponents say will threaten nesting grounds of loggerhead and Atlantic green sea turtles. In a decision issued Nov. 10, the National Ecology Institute, approved Sol Meliá’s plans for luxury accommodations at X’cacel, about 75 miles (125 kms) south of Cancún in an area of Quintana Roo state known as the Riviera Maya. Quintana Roo has worked hard to promote tourism development of the 60-mile (100-km) corridor from Cancún south to the Mayan ruins of Tulúm. But the effort has encountered environmental opposition. Sol Meliá in particular has drawn fire for its plans, which call for five hotels with a total of 1,451 rooms. Greenpeace Mexico... [Log in to read more]