Equipment Donation for Elijio Panti Park

The Belize Forest Department, through the Ministry of Sustainable Development, Climate Change, and Disaster Risk Management, handed over thousands of dollars in equipment, transportation and uniforms to the co-manager of the Elijio Panti National Park.  The donation was made through a regional forest conservation and protection project.

Andrea Polanco, Reporting

The Belize Forest Department donated sixty-five thousand dollars worth of office and field equipment including a computer and smartphones, as well as GPS and two ATVs to the Itzamna Society.

Wilber Sabido

Wilber Sabido, Chief Forest Officer, Belize Forest Department

“One of the key things that you see here is that we are providing field gear in the form of two ATVs and as well equipment for the rangers from the Itzama Society to be able to patrol and carry out enforcement and surveillance. So, with the equipment we expect that they will have more presence.”

The Itzamna Society co-manages the Elijio Panti National Park. But because there are illegal activities happening here, the Forest Department wants to strengthen its management and protection efforts.

Wilber Sabido

“We do have reports coming out of the village that there are incursions, poaching and to a certain extent logging within the national park. So, with these equipment it will enable the rangers to be able to access the remote areas of the park with the ATVs and to also be able to communicate and report the activities both good and bad that are occurring within the park.”

The donation was made through a project called the Selva Maya Natural Resource Protection. It’s an initiative aimed at the protection and sustainable use of the biodiversity and natural resources in the Selva Maya.

Orlando Habet

Orlando Habet, Minister of Sustainable Development, Climate Change & Disaster Risk Reduction

“What this project does is that it assists managers or co-managers within the Selva Maya which includes areas within Belize first, but the project includes Mexico, Belize and Guatemala to form the Selva Maya Project.   Certainly they have to protect the forest, the biodiversity of the forest but at the same time be able to see how the communities, especially how vulnerable communities and indigenous communities where they are have some type of welfare and sustainability from it so that they can have some type of livelihood from it. So, it is conservation but at the same time having some type of livelihood for the people.”

Reporting for News Five, I’m Andrea Polanco.

The ceremony took place this morning in San Antonio Village in the Cayo District.