Sharon Matola denies responsibility for clearing at Victoria Peak

The clearing of a portion of the summit on the Natural Monument, Victoria Peak has caused public outrage and tonight denials are coming fast and furious. News Five broke the story last night following an investigation by the Belize Audubon Society revealed that the unique vegetation had been cut to accommodate a planned chopper visit by environmentalists and Ministry of Natural Resources personnel. Audubon fingered Sharon Matola, but she is denying responsibility. The Ministry of Natural Resources, for whom the clearing was apparently made, is also washing its hands of the situation. Today News Five got reactions from both Matola and the C.E.O. in the Ministry, Beverly Castillo. Marion Ali reports.

Marion Ali, Reporting
While the Belize Audubon Society says their investigations have revealed that Sharon Matola ordered the clearing of the area on Victoria Peak, today Matola flatly denied the allegation. Matola admits however, that she did hire a tour guide to clear a portion lower down on the mountain for the military chopper to land Ministry of Natural Resources personnel, including Minister Gaspar Vega, and guests from the Belize Zoo and the International non-governmental organization, Panthera. Matola explained to us what the plan was.

Sharon Matola, Environmentalist
“The plan was to fly over this jaguar carter with an interpretation fort he ministers about the important role the forest plays for the preservation of our jaguars.”

But Matola denies the Audubon’s allegations that she was the one behind the clearing, she went further to denounce the clearing of the peak.

Sharon Matola
“I didn’t tell anybody to clear there. Greg Sho cleared kilometer nineteen. Why would he go up there to clear it; he wasn’t told to do that and he knew the helicopter wasn’t landing there.”

Marion Ali
“Where would you all had been in trouble if you had landed then? You said the deputy prime minister would have been in trouble because of the small area. Where are you talking about?”

Sharon Matola
“If they would have landed on top of Victoria Peak, that was the whole plan.”

Marion Ali
“Right and that’s why the area was cleared right?”

Sharon Matola
“No, because when they went, when the British flew by it they looked at it and they said we can’t land here because it’s too dangerous. So they never even landed.”

Marion Ali
“At the end of the day somebody cleared the portion and it’s for a helicopter landing. Somebody cleared it.”

Sharon Matola
“Well, I didn’t and I didn’t give anybody orders to clear Victoria Peak.”

Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of Natural Resources, Beverly Castillo, also says that Ministry officials for whom the trip was planned, knew nothing of the clearing on the peak. Castillo says she only found out about it upon watching News Five on Thursday night.

Beverly Castillo, C.E.O., Ministry of Natural Resources
“Today I got an email from the Chief Forest Officer and he’s out of the country currently and indications are that he never gave any such instruction and we are not aware of the clearing prior to the information being passed through the Belize Audubon Society.”

Marion Ali
“But the clearing was done to facilitate a trek by ministry officials.”

Beverly Castillo
“I’m hoping that’s not an insinuation that because there were high profile ministry officials there that anything was done to facilitate. Certainly, I was in that preparatory meeting and the matter of landing on the summit or clearing anything on the summit was never discussed.”

Marion Ali
“She’s saying she’s not aware who gave the instruction to clear the summit because she didn’t give that instruction.”

Beverly Castillo
“And we are saying that this ministry, through the Forest Department, did not give that instruction either.”

Marion Ali
“All I’m saying is that obviously the area was cleared to facilitate this trip so somebody who knew about the trip or who was on the trip had to have given that instruction. Everybody is saying they don’t know who it could have been but it was to facilitate this trip.”

Beverly Castillo
“It was to facilitate it and, as I indicated to you earlier, the minister was invited. It was not a trip organized by this ministry. We had a visit from Sharon Matola and she invited the minister and the minister accepted the invitation to go on the trip.”

On Thursday when News Five broke the story, Belize Audubon Society, through its Advocacy Programme Manager, Amanda Burgos Acosta, said the clearing shocked them and that it could have serious environmental repercussions such as run-offs and erosion with the fast-approaching rainy season. C.E.O. Castillo also shares similar sentiments.

Beverly Castillo
“It is quite disheartening but again, what can be done to mitigate it is something for the technocrats. They will have to say what they can do. It’s already cleared as you indicated, as we saw on the news last night. It is something for them to say what measures can be taken to ensure that the erosion can at least be contained.”

Reporting for News Five, Marion Ali.

The Ministry of Natural Resources is now saying it will look at ways to mitigate the erosion at the peak.