Environmentalists say procedure was not followed at the Peak

Late last week, environmentalist, Sharon Matola of the Belize Zoo said she had nothing to do with an illegal clearing recently discovered by the Belize Audubon Society at the pristine Victoria Peak that is likely to cause erosion and has destroyed a portion of its unique vegetation. On Saturday, Matola was joined by Alan Rabinowitz, President of Panthera, the environmental N.G.O., who was also on a helicopter flight to the national monument. Both wrote e-mails denouncing the illegal act. In a copy of that correspondence to Chief Forest Officer, Wilber Sabido, shared with News Five, Rabinowitz expressed regret about the controversy surrounding his trip to Victoria Peak. He also agreed that the area should not have been disturbed and also that “It is clear that certain procedures were not followed properly”. Meanwhile, in her correspondence Matola, who admits she ordered a clearing at the nineteen hundred kilometer site says the tour guide whom she hired Greg Sho, has informed her that he too did not clear the ten by fifteen feet area of the peak. Like Rabinowitz, Matola agrees that the clearing was “a strong turn in protocol”

So who is responsible for the clearing? That is left to be determined. What has been verified, however, is that the Matola party, that included D.P.M. Gaspar Vega and Minister Michael Hutchinson, did not land on Victoria Peak as was the initial plan. Instead they landed at nineteen hundred kilometers, a helicopter landing site well below the Peak. The purpose of their trip was for government officials onboard to get a clear interpretation of the important role the forest plays in the preservation of Belize’s jaguars. We will continue to follow this developing in story in other newscasts.