Audubon Society celebrates 30 years in Belize

The Belize Audubon Society celebrated its thirtieth anniversary at the Guanacaste Park this weekend. To mark the anniversary, the Society held a forty-eight mile walk-a-thon with participants picking up debris along the way. Official ceremonies were then held at the park. Among the speakers was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Natural Resources John Briceño. He spoke about the Audubon Society’s contribution to Belize and the need for them to feel secure about their headquarters in the Fort Point area of Belize City.

John Briceño, Minister of Natural Resources

“Since 1982, Audubon has pumped several million dollars into the national economy, by creating jobs, services and benefits, with various grants from donor agencies. After all this, as you may have heard, Audubon was being threatened by the G.O.B. with expulsion from its headquarters in Belize City. The Government had granted this property on May, 1993 in commemoration of its silver anniversary. Today, I propose that the Government sell them the property, at a symbolic value of one dollar, so that in the near future no Government can ever threaten to take away Audubon’s headquarters.”

Briceño says Belize will suffer over the long term if we contaminate water sources, degrade our soils, deforest our watersheds and pollute the air. He says that if we do such irreparable damage to our environment, temperatures will raise due to global warming, the seas will rise, there will be more droughts and dry rivers.