WWF, Portico and Royal Caribbean? What’s that?
WWF Belize is among several organizations that have come out against port projects off the coast of Belize, including the proposed Port of Magical Belize, as it champions mangrove protection. Back in July, Royal Caribbean, which has partnered with Portico, announced that it has joined with WWF to insert sustainability in the core of its business to promote responsible tourism. In a report, destination assessments were completed in Royal Caribbean ports of call, including Cozumel, Mexico; Roatan, Honduras and Belize City, Belize. Today, the media caught up WWF Country Rep Nadia Bood who says that approximately one thousand acres of mangroves are to be affected by the proposed cruise tourism project. Bood maintains that WWF has not endorsed any cruise ports in Belize, including Port Magical.
Nadia Bood
Nadia Bood, Country Representative, World Wildlife Fund
“From the perspective of World Wildlife Fund, we do not condone any project that will lead to large scale impact on mangroves. We also have not endorsed any cruise ports in Belize, including Port Magical.”
Reporter
“And so the ad that was purporting to indicate as much, what happened there?”
Nadia Bood
“You would have to go to the leader of the opposition because I don’t know what’s their ground for attacking us, but we, as an organization, we are an NGO. We focus on the environment and promoting the country in addressing threats and vulnerabilities. We are not involved in consultancy; we also do not want to get caught up in any hidden agendas of political parties or business interest groups.
Reporter
“Wasn’t there an initial release though which seemed a bit murky on whether it supported the project or not?”
Nadia Bood
“I can say again, we have not supported the project, we have not endorsed the project and that’s all we can say. I mean reporters and people who create ads, they have their own interests of course, but I can say definitively that we have no involvement.”
Reporter
“But don’t you feel that you will inevitably be linked to Portico considering that you are partnered with Royal Caribbean and they are partnered with Portico?”
Nadia Bood
“I won’t speak to that. That is an international partnership with World Wildlife Fund and Royal Caribbean around onboard sustainable practices. But I won’t be speaking to that because we already came out and said we are not involved; we haven’t endorsed the project.”
