It’s Reef Week 2021!

The conservation community has come together to observe Reef Week. While the pandemic has placed some challenges on how the week is being observed this year, there is still a jam packed calendar of activities – from beach clean-ups to social media trivia to virtual panel discussions. Communications Director Alyssa Carnegie tells us more about the activities that run through to Saturday, including an important virtual discussion on the Blue Economy that kicks off tonight.

Alyssa Carnegie

Alyssa Carnegie, Communications Director, OCEANA Belize

“This year’s theme is “Through Ups or Downs, a Healthy Reef is Belize’s Crown.” It’s really talking to the important roles the reef plays in all of our lives, whether we are aware of it or not.  How it has been there to sustain so many livelihoods, even through a decline in tourism the reef is there, feeding people and still a source of recreation and enjoyment for many tourists and now we are seeing increasingly locals. But we do have an incredible week long list of activities that different partners have put together. We have had cleanups going on in Placencia and today is the launch of an eco-audit from Healthy Reefs. There are works being done on social media, trivial competition, contests.  OCEANA is having an Instagram competition as well where you can win some cool Oceana swag for participating and we also have get active for the reef – it is not really a competition but really just trying to incentivize those who are already active or those who need a little bit more motivation or incentive to get active for the reef this week.   Tonight, we have something that we are very happy to bring to the Belizean public – a panel discussion moderated by our very own Janelle Chanona on the Blue Economy; the opportunities and challenges.  We have a great line up of panelists. We have Mr. Kirk Humphries from the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Blue Economy in Barbados. We have our own Minister Andre Perez. We have representatives from the Inter-American Development Bank – Dr. Brown Watkins. And we have our own partners here locally, Amanda Burgos of the BAS; Lisa Carne Fragments of Hope; Melanie Paz and Tamara Sniffin of the B.T.I.A.”

The Blue Economy Panel discussion will start at seven-thirty tonight and will be streamed on Reef Week’s Facebook page. Reef Week has been observed in Belize since 2013.