Belizean and Guatemalan local leaders sign bi-national agreement

There is good news to report with regards to preservation and conservation of our natural resources in the west. According to Friends for Conservation and Development, on Saturday, some nineteen Belizean and Guatemalan local leaders signed a significant bi-national agreement at the O.A.S. Headquarters at the Adjacency Zone.  The agreement documents the technical administrative intentions in relation to the conservation of shared rivers, and it calls for the strengthening of cooperation and sustainable management that will enable a better quality of life for the communities nearby watersheds. News Five spoke via phone today with Executive Director of FCD, Rafael Manzanero, who says that the new agreement is actually a revised version of one that was agreed to three years ago to establish a joint effort for the protection of the Chiquibul, the Mopan, Macal and Belize rivers.

Via Phone: Rafael Manzanero, Executive Director, Friend for Conservation and Development

Rafael Manzanero

“I think the agreement basically showcases the ability to do joint efforts and to open more areas of collaboration. As you do know, the Chiquibul Forest has many environmental goods and services. So normally, the impression is why is it important to protect the Chiquibul and certainly one of the important reasons why to maintain it is because of the water resources. And so the significance of coming in as community leaders from Guatemala and also from Belize to specifically deal with such an environmental good, then certainly this elevates the local support in the venture of protecting the Chiquibul Forest. So for us, it is an initiative that we have been able to see over the last three years that indeed people are willing to collaborate in terms of protecting those resources that are rooted and we start off from the Chiquibul Forest.”

The bi-national agreement, which is supported by the British Embassy, will see reforestation efforts along the riverside, cleanup campaigns and education activities to promote the conservation, protection and preservation of natural resources.