Forum assesses state of marine resources

Today, over a hundred and thirty representatives from a wide cross-section of governmental and non-governmental organizations met in Belize City to participate in the National Marine Forum 2002. Coordinated by the Belize Audubon Society, the gathering aims to create a plan of action to protect our marine resources. According to Audubon’s Valdemar Andrade, it will take a team effort to deal with the topics on the table.

Valdemar Andrade, Executive Dir., Belize Audubon Society

“Some of the main issues are standardization of protocols for research. Dealing with issues in the tourism industry in terms of carrying capacity…of course one of the big issues what has been in the media the past couple weeks, the cruise ship industry and how that has grown so fast and what can we do to alleviate or deal with that scenario or what would be the recommendations for the future in terms of growth of that industry.”

“Product development, how do we make sure that the tourism industry recognizes that the marine protected areas and all protected areas are the base of their industry, and that they have to invest a certain amount of money in the development of these protected areas. Not only the B.T.B., but also the private sector and the private organizations. We all have to sit down and not blame each other but see what we can do for each other.”

Participants included representatives of the hotel industry, private tour guides, tour operators, university faculty, students and numerous government departments. The marine forum was funded by the U.N. Global Environmental Fund and the Belize Audubon Society.