Meet Hannah St. Luce Martinez: a Champion of Belize’s Biodiversity
Tonight, we wrap up our series on women in leadership roles with the story of one woman who wasn’t born here, but who has spent her working life trying to protect and guide the use of our natural resources. As reporter Andrea Polanco found out, Hannah Saint Luce Martinez braves areas most of us won’t go. But it’s not just her work that drives her – it’s her passion.
Hannah St. Luce Martinez, Director, National Biodiversity Office
“This is what fuels me, it’ the love for nature. On every document or CV, I always write my hobby as being hiking. I just love being in nature.”
Andrea Polanco, Reporting
Martinez is a Dominican by birth but she relocated to Belize when she met her Belizean husband while at university. Belize is now the place where her work and purpose collide.
Hannah St. Luce Martinez
Hannah St. Luce Martinez
“I don’t like being indoors, especially as it relates to Belize. This is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. There is so much to see and so much to explore; so much to learn. Again, what I appreciate so much about being in this field is interacting with persons at the community level; interacting with the different cultures; the different sites – we have multiple protected areas at the system level which are yet to be discovered by the regular Belizean. This allowed me to really and truly become Belize. (Laughs) Though I recognize that there are certain cultural needs, we must recognize that our resources are not bottomless wells. We need to raise that consciousness that we must value and safeguard our resources. This is not only the job of the technicians and the persons within the offices. These resources are here for the well-being of each and every one of us and I would like to see us take more ownership of the resources.”
Martinez is the Director of the National Biodiversity Office in Belize – formed in 2020 to champion the sustainable use and management of protected areas and biodiversity to ensure that all Belizeans benefit from these resources for years to come. That work often takes Martinez to the remote corners of Belize, away from her family and the comfort of her home – to deep in the jungles and across rivers and up close with wildlife. But she wouldn’t want it any other way – she embraced the hardships. Her roots with the Forest Department date back to 2006. These experiences prepared her to lead this critical work for Belize.
Hannah St. Luce Martinez
“When I entered the department there were already two female forest officers, what I immediately recognized though is that these were strong women and I learnt why immediately, we were against some strong men; strong in character; strong in technical preparation; strong in the field and so immediately we were forced to toughen up. There is no time for the girl talk; and the handbag; and the lipstick; it is getting out there in the field and getting dirty; rolling down Ciebo Chico in Chiquibul and so I never saw it as a hindrance to me getting a job. I saw it as a challenge to rise above those stereotypes of women not being fit for these sorts of position and jobs. It has had its ups and its downs but overall, I think it is something that I wouldn’t change for the world. It has made me into who I am.”
…and her work hasn’t gone unnoticed. Minister Orlando Habet of the Ministry of Sustainable Development, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction says Martinez’s visionary leadership is worth emulating.
Orlando Habet
Orlando Habet, Minister of Sustainable Development, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction
“Having the biodiversity unit is really important for us especially looking at protected areas management and Miss St. Luce Martinez has been exceptional in her work, along with her team of course. So, of course we give her recognition as a person for her professionalism and everything else but she also works with a team of mostly women.”
But while Martinez loves the outdoors, some of her most important work has been within the confines of her workspace and with her colleagues. She is an advocate for workplace legislation reform, where she promotes the need for balance and greater inclusion of women in her field.
Hannah St. Luce Martinez
“I stay here knowing that there is that need to challenge status quo; that need to challenge the norms and stereotypes that our little girls cannot be forest officers and our little girls cannot be park rangers. I really and truly think that from this position that I sit within the NBIO, I now have an opportunity to influence other young women to join this field – knowing that we can be the ones out there as well. I may be a biodiversity officer but I find ways to bring my children into this field with me so that they appreciate the work that I do. So, that is my biggest call to our policy makers, that while we do our jobs and we do it well that there is this need to balance the home and work relationship; a child that is healthy equates to a mom that is healthy equates to a job that is getting done, nuh. It humbles you and I remain within this field and I don’t see anything else for me. (Laughs)”
Reporting for News Five, I’m Andrea Polanco.
