APAMO says ban oil drilling on seabed, but PM defends progress
Licenses issued for offshore oil exploration have stirred up environmentalists. So far eighteen companies have been granted concessions to search for petroleum on land and sea. Some of the concessions are more controversial than others because they overlap areas that contain fragile ecosystems. The Belize Barrier Reef, a World Heritage Site has been parceled off into blocks for possible drilling. The Association of Protected Areas Management Organization (APAMO) has gone on record on the behalf of environmental groups to say no to all possible drilling on the seabed. In light of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico which has cost hundreds of millions of dollars so far, the prospects of oil wealth may not equal the need to protect the reef for the tourism and fishing industries and future generations. This morning, however, Prime Minister Dean Barrow indicated that he would not stand in the way of oil explorations.
Prime Minister Dean Barrow
“I don’t know about the technical aspects of what happened in the Gulf of Mexico. My sense is that that was avoidable error. There is a degree of negligence, there is a degree of conflict in terms of the chain of command and who was giving the particular orders. It is a sobering experience. It is a salutary experience, but to my mind it means that we proceed with extreme caution, it doesn’t mean we don’t proceed. We are clearly are a long way from any point at which drilling could begin to take place. We must ensure that before we get to that stage, everything that needs to be done gets done in terms of things like seismic—whatever the proprietary exercises that must be gone through that even at that level nothing is done that increases any risk of any environmental fall out. We clearly have to reexamine the capacity of the official government agencies to be able to craft the criteria that companies will have to comply with and to be able to monitor compliance with those criteria. But subject to that sort of thing, I don’t believe that is the proper thing to do to simply say we’ll throw up our hands and call the whole thing quits. My point is that we understand that these risks in this case can be compounded by as a consequence of the activities of human beings and we try to guard against those risks. But I don’t think you simply at this point say that you will stop any possibility of progress in terms of the oil industry by putting an end to the entire process.”
Who is to say, that if they find oil near the reef and they do drill, even with all precautions taken, a disaster like what happened to BP could not occur again? This time, it will immediately destroy a reef system that Belizeans depend on for food, steady income, and even protecting the mainland and our many beautiful islands? Government officials don’t seem to care. They will get a big piece of that oil money if wells are to be built. They will have the money to survive even if Belizeans loose everything they have. Money and power really do corrupt! Wish international environmental organisations would step in. Drilling off the reef is something that should have not even been thought of!
they should have asked the PM…CAN AN OIL SPILL HAPPEN IN BELIZE?
It seems that if an oil rig is erected, it will be error free with no human error, thats what i understood from the PM discussion…
The arrogance of government has led citizens to turn against its government. This type of oil conflict have resulted on terrorism and public officials being killed..
Mr. PM do some research on oil conflict….see the issue in Nigeria between the government and the people because of unequal distribution of the oil wealth, the environment, among other factores….
just google NIger Delta to be aware of the conflict that you can cause because you are going against the will of the majority of BELIZEANS…..we Belizeans are Masters of our life and our land…I hope it is clear to the PM that he is not the owner of Belize resources…
I took the time to find a very short article for the PM to read,,,is this what you want PM? over my dead body…. http://www.globalissues.org/article/86/nigeria-and-oil
News5 can publish my email so that GOB can track me….I prefer to die for my county rather than see it destroyed….I LOVE MY BELIZE…I want my future children to enjoy the natural gifts that God gave to Bz…
An oil spill CAN happen for several factors….hope will the oil compensate for the fisheries and tourism industry….there will no longer be a barrier reef for future generations…
There is oil in Belize but still the PRICE OF FUEL IS HIGH,,,,who has benefit from the oil in Bz?
All Belizeans, tell the GOB we do not want this in our country. The few wells that are producing oil has not benefited one citizen on Belize. It has benefited the politicians and their families, and investors nothing more.
Say NO to drilling inside our protected areas.
HOW IN THE WORLD YOU COULD TINK BOUT PARCEL OFF BARRIER REEF TO INVESTORS? We done nuh gat nuttin eena di country! Lawd have mercy!!!
honorable dean barrow, u gotta be effing kiddin’ me!!!! u are an idiot. u mean to tell us that you are willing to put profit before people?? that spill in the gulf was bound to happen!!! and now because of that spill the wildlife, industries and way of life that are all supported by the gulf has been destroyed. since the spill, there is no sign of viable wildlife in that region! the quietness is deafening. keep in mind that roughly 70% of shellfish consumed in the States is supplied by Gulf of Mexico region, so consumers will feel the pain, especially in the pocketbook, for years to come. take the situation in the Gulf Coast as a forewarning!!!!!!
the Belize Barrier Reef System is already threaten by the increase in development of the construction of resorts (dredging, mangrove clearing), natural disasters and the flow of effluents from the farmland via the rivers, and the ever increasing fishers population in Belize and yet the damage that an oil spill can do by far exceeds the threats posed by these other factors combined. We can and have survived hurricanes, we can mitigate impacts of runoffs, we can enforce better policy of coastal development, we can implement better fisheries managment tools but there is nothing we can do to prevent the damages caused by an oil spill. The USA with all its wealth, technology, expertise and manpower can not stop this spill. What makes the PM believe that we can. We can barely control the burning of the garbage dump in Belize City, we cant coordinate the inspection of a grounding,
PM it is cheaper to cancel those permits than to put our people at risk.
Mr. Prime Minister, with all due respect to you, you have not the authority to take risks with our world heritage sites. The Barrier Reef is our pride and joy and has more to offer for Belize and Belizeans than any oil can offer. Once destroyed, it can never be cleaned up or repaired. Drill as much as you want on land but leave the sea beds alone.
I start out by saying that I too am against offshore drilling in Belize. That said, look in the history books and see just how rare offshore rigs mess up. It’s happened in Mexico once, after decades of drilling. In the US twice, after decades of drilling. It’s very rare. Just keep that in mind. Still the barrier reef is very special to me, so hopefully no drilling happens there.
We all know that not one cent will come into the “Consolidated Funds” bank account for the country.
I smell revolution….the trouble in Jamaica is nothing compared to what is likely in Belize if this Government does not a grip. Oil drilling near the reef is NOT the solution, I cannot believe that these …… would even CONTEMPLATE this.
A ban on anything is a dumb person’s answer to a question. It doesn’t require any thinking done on the part of anyone “just ban it”.
I support offshore drilling as long as it is done with the right safety precautions in place. Of course an oil spill can happen but they are extremely rare.
You can die in a car accident while driving one but does that stop you from driving a car? Your kids might die before you do but should that stop you from having kids?
This anti offshore drilling is nothing but a knee jerk reaction to the current situation in the gulf of Mexico. Before that you didn’t hear anything from anyone but Belize is not new to knee jerk reactions. Look at the BB guns that were mentioned by Oceana’s spokeperson, after that negligent incident with the young man a lot of people’s knee jerk reaction was “BAN THEM”.
A BAN is the dumb persons answer to anything they disagree with. There is no thinking required from anyone “just ban it”.
I agree??? Which organisation could be contacted to help fight against the GOB’s intent?
With all due respect to the Prime Minister, there is double standard in his attitude. When there was a proposal to develop a part of north Ambergris Caye, he vehemently opposed it because it was sensitive to the environment in the Bacalar Chico Reserve. Now this idea to drill in the sea poses serious threats to our barrier reef which is a World Heritage Site and he says he won’t stand in the way of progress. He calls this ‘progress”? This double standard should be condemned by all Belizeans. I pray to God to illuminate his mind.
Haven’t we learn anything from the BP incident? Over a month and still counting yet no resolution to this. Bottom line for these companies are maximizing their profits, they are not thinking about the environmental effect or the possible destruction that will be done because they will have taken their profits and ran.
Sometimes it doesn’t take much for the Belizean Public (the people take make the country; not the government) that at times it seems that we have some Jack Asses running our lovely country, which we advertise so much as mother nature’s best kept secret. Well after an oil disaster it won’t be so anymore, we are such a small country that any disaster would cause tremendous ripple effects on all ecosystem, from the marine areas to the coastal and maybe even inland areas. So with all due RESPECT Prime minister don’t be stupid and ignorant and reroute that road that you are about to put this wonderful nation of ours into. Put the belizean public before you think about your pockets and the pockets of your cronnies. Belizean people have not had any benefit from the millions the government has made so far….I wonder where that money IS???
First let me say thanks to Channel-5 News for allowing us to air out our thoughts and concerns about our beloved country, I really appreciate it and I hope that everyone is using this as a learning aid to be aware about our surroundings and our country. Our fellow Belizeans, now we all know exactly where our leader stand with drilling and exploration of oil within the waters of Belize. Channel-5 News conducted an Epoll on the 14th. of this month, which 84% of our viewers agreed with “APAMO” to ban oil drilling & exploration around our Barrier Reef. We the citizens of Belize elected Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister of Belize to lead us and entrusted the protection and safety of our envioronment, including our Barrier Reef, the second largest in the world. As I share this article with you, the President of the United States is under tremendous pressure for aproving the drilling of oil in the Gulf of Mexico, and is obviously regretting it. Common sense tell’s us that, “TO ERR IS HUMAN” and we as imperfect beings will falter. God forbid, Belize if wi leader approve now or later fi drill eena wi country and dis same thing ahppen eena wi water. On the 10th. of February,2010, our Prime Minister informed us about his dis-satisfaction with BNE’S Agreement. He shared with us the gross earnings of BNE, their overhead expenses incurred, and GOB’S share (Revenue). Our Prime Minister informed us that although BNE is earning Millions of dollars, that our country’s revenue depend on earnings generated by BNE, and that he had no interest in nationalizing BNE or reviewing their agreement with GOB. My people, that statement applies to anyone conducting business in our country. Playing with words as usual, partially a true statement on his part, but at the end of the day, I arrive at the conclusion he was very unhappy with the agreement, which should be Lesson number (1). I really don’t know if our Prime Minister was frustrated with BNE, but he refered to his favorite Arab proverb, “Trust in God, but tie your Camel”. Hon. Prime Minister, how can we trust you with any other Petroleum Agreement, especially drillling for oil in our water’s?. Can you imagine what would happen to Belize if similar catastrophe occur in our Waters?. CPA Report disclosed that most Belizeans are POOR and our lives depend on Fishing & the Tourisim Industry, especially we from the southern districts. You might not be re-elected, then why would you leave such a burden for someone else?. It didn’t go too well with you when you succeeded Hon. Musa, think about it. I am confident that from the 84% that agreed with the band of oil drilling in Belize, that most of them including myself who voted for you and elected you to be our Leader are disappointed in your performance right about now. The least we deserve is your respect and consideration for our concern. I agree wid you, fi trust in God, but da who di let goh di Camel now man?.
We need to take the P.M. diving. Get him PADI certified, if he isn’t already.
I don’t think he really has an appreciation for the underwater world. Seriously. We must take P.M. Barrow diving pronto!
Let’s take him to see the whale sharks!
@ Belize It… What history book are you reading? One written by a major oil corporation? Go here and get some facts, and it says right at the top…”THIS LIST IS INCOMPLETE”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oil_spills
86 are listed
27 in the States
2 in Mexico
And how many smaller ones go unreported? JUST SAY NO TO OFFSHORE DRILLING!!!