City seeks urban wildlife refuge

People who want to experience nature usually have to leave Belize City, but it doesn’t have to be that way anymore. Just a few hundred yards beyond the Faber’s Road Extension lies a beautiful lagoon, surrounded by mangrove that has somehow survived amidst the hustle and bustle of urban life. The Belize City Council has plans to protect and manage this ecosystem for future generations to enjoy.

Froylan Alvarado, Senior Town Planner

“There is one of the pristine mangrove areas that we have in the city. It holds about twenty-seven species of birds or even more, it’s also teeming with wildlife, both aquatic and birds. We have crocodiles we have fishes here, and what we want to do with the area is to propose a development whereby you would have bird watching with boardwalks, observation towers, and in the future this could be a place where we could have family outings.”

Darrell Carter, City Councilor

“To try to keep it intact, but at the same time create a park so that tourism can be enhanced and people can have somewhere they can go and relax. We need the input of Audubon Society, the Department of the Environment and the signature of the Minister of Natural Resources. With his blessings we will be able to get it as a park.”

On Thursday members of the Belize Audubon Society will be on site to inspect the lagoon.