Environmental Experts Weigh In on Fire Increase!
Jan Meerman
As you heard earlier in the newscast, the Forest Department is facing a growing problem with fires across the country. And there may be regulations coming as early as next week to try to put a stop to this issue. Today we also got commentary from other experts in the field who shared why this issue is of grave concern.
Jan Meerman, Technical Advisor, Monitoring Biodiversity & Climate Change in Selva Maya Project (Belize)
“This morning was high particle count. What the sensors are doing is to collect he particles from the air. The particles can be from anything; from industry from dust and from within Belize because we don’t have heavy industry pollution, it is from smoke. Smoke is also particles. With particles, it is increasing clear that it is harmful to your health. The reason why it was higher than usual this morning is because there are still a number of fires around Belmopan and they keep burning during the night and if there is no wind then the smoke doesn’t go anywhere. So, it is particularly heavy this morning but once the breeze came up, it kind of dissipated. It is still too high to be considered not harmful. People are used to saying it is just smoke or just busy that is burning but it is not healthy. If you have seen the site, you can go online and see the current status, it warns you if this condition lasts more than twenty four hours it is a health issue. We have been in this smoke now for one or two weeks, so this is definitely a health issue.”
Kamille Pennil
Kamille Pennil, CITED Coordinator, Wildlife Conservation Society
“We see the occurrence of fires happening every year especially during the dry season and notice that the fires are really peaking this year. So, it is making record and it is the highest amount of fires we have seen over the past few years. This is alarming to everybody because one, we know the effects of fires; it destroys habit and wild-life which would lead to a decrease of biodiversity and then of course it is a hazard to people’s home and human life.”
Raul Chun
Raul Chun, Forest Officer, Forestry Department
“We have developed a contingency plan to see if we can start addressing some of these fires. The plan is pending approval and if we do get approval, you will probably start seeing us responding to these fires and trying to get a handle on what’s going on.”
