APAMO joins Placencia guides against Stake Bank
Public consultation on the proposed Stake Bank and North Drowned Caye development projects, multi-million dollar tourism endeavors to be undertaken by the Feinstein Group, was held on Wednesday in Belize City. Since the meeting a number of private citizens and environmental organizations have raised concerns about the physical impact such an initiative would have on the delicate marine ecosystem, particularly within the Swallow Caye Wildlife Sanctuary. The Association of Protected Areas Management Organization, APAMO, today issued a release putting across its fears about the effects that the mega-project can potentially have on the environment. According to APAMO, the explanations offered by the Department of the Environment during the question and answer session were unacceptable. DOE, says APAMO, should have asked for a complete Environmental Impact Assessment for the appendices, taking into consideration that the assessments, as well as the environmental compliance plan which were conducted between 2006 and 2007 are still considered valid. There are also issues with the proposed causeway to connect the mainland to the neighboring islands. Most importantly, APAMO has taken an issue with the idea of a mobile refueling service which it says will pose a high threat to the surrounding protected area, as well as the entire reef system. Another proposed tourism development project, this one on Harvest Caye off the coast of Placencia, was recently met with objection from the Placencia Tour Guides Association, as well as the local chapter of the Belize Tourism Industry Association during a public meeting on Wednesday night.
See why I don’t blame Barrow to let the folks continue to drill for oil? Barrow, IN THE INTEREST OF THE BELIZEAN ECONOMY, GO FOR IT.
Belize is financially in a wreck. I had to leave my country to go abroad to try to sustain my family and meet my bills if not I would have lost my home right now and without a job. Here comes opportunities for development and economic movement and in steps the high paid environmentalists that are all paid by, I don’t know who, to STOP BELIZE FROM ANY TYPE OF DEVELOPMENT. I have been to numerous public consultations and all they seem to want to do is STOP ANY KIND OF DEVELOPMENT. They come with the negatives always to STOP A DEVELOPMENT and NEVER WITH IDEAS OR SOLUTIONS to implement so as to mitigate possible impacts as there are mitigations. ALL YOU HEAR THEM CRY OUT IS: THIS WILL BE AFFECTED AND THAT WILL BE AFFECTED AND NEVER WOULD THEY TRY TO SAY LETS SIT DOWN AND SEE HOW WE CAN TRY TO IMPLEMENT SOLUTIONS SO THE POSSIBLE IMPACTS SO THE ENVIRONMENT WILL NOT BE AFFECTED. IT CAN BE DONE. BUT THESE ONE MINDED SO CALLED ENVIRONMENTALIST AND I AM REFFERING TO THE ONES THAT GO TO OPPOSE ALWAYS, WHO WOULD NEVER COME WITH AN OPEN MIND TO WORK TOGETHER WITH THE EIA PREPARER AND DEVELOPER TO SEE HOW A PROJECT CAN BE IMPLEMENTED ENVIRONMENTALLY. That is why they are called Environmental Engineers and ENGNEERS come up with solutions.
SO NOW, BELIZE IS SO WELL OFF ECONOMICALLY THAT THESE PEOPLE CAN AFFORD TO STOP ANY TYPE OF DEVELOPMENT. NO TO OIL, NO TO TOURISM, NO TO THIS AND NO TO THAT, SO MR. PRIME MINISTER, WHAT WILL YOUR GOVERNMENT DO TO TRY TO MAKE REVENUES? TELL THESE PEOPLE THAT ARE STOPPING ANY FORM OF DEVELOPMENT TO COME UP WITH THE REVENUES NEEDED TO MAKE BELIZE GET ECONOMICALLY SOUND AND THEN YOU WILL LISTEN TO THEM. iF THEY CANT THEN MR. BARROW, GO ON AND DO WHAT IS RIGHT IN THE INTEREST OF THE BELIZEAN ECONOMY.
Ur an idiot Just Curious…..Obviously u don’t live here nor have real love for this country. by allowing people to come in our country and destroy our natural resources just for a little buck, then where does that put us???what will we as Belizeans, who choose to stay and live here, hv if we destroy BELIZE
The GOB loves naive, simple-minded people like the above ‘Just Curious’ example that thinks that these ‘opportunities for development and economic movement’ will ever bring back money to the mass amounts of Belizean people. NO. The select few will get their cut and I’ll tell you who gets the rest – FOREIGN INVESTORS. Just think for a minute, how many HOTELS in Belize are financed and run by foreign investors or a select few wealthy Belizeans. Average price for a hotel in San Pedro/Cayo, around $125US/night (and that’s not even close to what some of them are going for). HOW THE HELL CAN YOU ADVERTISE BELIZEAN HOTELS IN US PRICES??!! BECAUSE IT AIN’T BELIZEANS GETTING THE MONEY!!!! (Ok, maybe just the tax, and into who’s pockets does THAT go? I’d like to knwo what happens to that money.) But yet, they buy our land, clear our natural resources out of the way and build an ‘eco-friendly, jungle/ocean escapes’. And lets see, we get a few jobs out of that I guess – some maids, janitors, gardeners, people who build thatch roof huts, etc. etc. Does that really justify the outcome?? NOW, lets talk about this on a LARGE SCALE – clearing and developing whole islands, dredging a massive hole through the sea (ever look at google maps and get a bird’s eye view?), sending off tons of pollution (through engines) sending off massive amounts of CRAP/URINE (unless someone can explain to me where the excrement of cruiseships go??) into our oceans, upsetting the balance of our ‘largest LIVING barrier reef’ (soon to be the 2nd largest DEAD barrier reef), destroying habitats for spawning fish/lobster/conch (which let’s see unless I’m wrong again, ‘fisherman’ makes up a good amount of job titles for less wealthy Belizeans). Anyway, I could go on and on. So, instead of calling them ENVIRONMENTALISTS why not just called them SMART, CONCERNED BELIZEANS THAT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE TALING ABOUT!!! Yes, I am Belizean. Yes, I have background in Conservation Biology. Yes, I LOVE MY COUNTRY. Yes, I’m in another country because there are not a lot of opportunities in Belize. But, NO!! this is NOT THE WAY TO DO IT!!!
Agreee 110% Just Curious-@$$&*(^ oppose for opposing sake-they all have jobs paid for by foreigners and cant create anything themsleves-they are selfish and want no others to prosper-go ahead with stake bank, norweigains, italian project-get things moving GOB before you are voted out and the others take the credit