International birders meet in Belize

Here on Regent Street in downtown Belize City the only birds we get to see belong to a flock of resident pigeons who have the uncanny ability to drop dirty little bombs on anyone entering the station. But there’s more to bird watching than urban terrorism, as News 5’s Jacqueline Woods discovered.

Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
This week, bird lovers from across the globe are meeting in Belize to share their information and experiences. Their purpose? To protect our feathered friends–particularly those that inhabit this part of the world. The Belize Audubon Society, which is a member of the Birdlife International Partnership in the Americas, is hosting the conference. According to BAS Protected Areas Manager Nellie Catzim, the key issue is finding a balance between people and the environment.

Nellie Catzim, Protected Areas Mgr., B.A.S.
?Recently with the Southern Highway going in and with the massive increase in tourism over the past year, we see a great pressure on the protected areas system itself, but also on the natural resources of the country where major development is taking place throughout the country. So with every clearing there is an impact on the bird population in the country and unfortunately we don?t have any studies at this point to really indicate what the impacts are. But there will be a new initiative through Birdlife International in the coming months, where we–Belize Audubon as the Birdlife partner in Belize–will be focussing on that very same issue.?

According to the Head of Birdlife International, Ian Davidson, they are a global partnership of non-governmental conservation organisations whose main interest is to conserve birds and their habitats by working with people for the sustainable use of natural resources.

Ian Davidson, Birdlife International
?We will be discussing a number of really key issues. We will be looking at some of the issues that are occurring in mega biodiversity countries, those countries with enormous resources and how we as a partnership are going to work there. We are also going to be looking at these things called Millennium Development Goals and how we incorporate the people element into the biodiversity conservation aspect of what we do.?

It is the first time that Birdlife International is meeting in Central America. Jacqueline Woods for News Five.

The official opening ceremonies take place tonight at the House of Culture.