The personnel at the National Fire Service were very busy last week tackling bush fires that erupted almost all over the city. Station Supervisor at the National Fire Service Kenneth Mortis told us that all fires required excessive man power and coordinated efforts to control. As the department contained one fire to the next, their […]
The government’s Land Tax, Partial Remission of Areas, Bill 2019 has raised many eyebrows across the country. The bill was ratified by the Senate on Friday, and essentially it is a land amnesty programme for land taxes. The Barrow administration has written millions of millions of back taxes owed to the government. The concerning factor […]
Today the Senate approved three loan motions totalling one hundred and forty eight million Belize dollars. The government borrowed fifty million U.S. dollars from the Taiwanese Government for the upgrading of the Corozal-Sarteneja Road and the construction of the Pueblo Nuevo and Laguna Seca bridges. The loan agreement comes after the Taiwanese Government offered financial […]
After ten years in the pipeline, a modern web portal was unveiled this morning by the Ministry of Natural Resources at the Belize Biltmore Plaza. The system will be collecting and providing critical geographic data to the private and public sectors as well as other agencies. The Belize National Spatial Data Infrastructure web portal is […]
Representing the Minister of Economic Development at today’s Memorandum of Understanding signing was C.E.O. Yvonne Hyde. Hyde is also the Chair of the Project Steering Committee of the Belize Climate Resilience Infrastructure Project. B-CRIP partnered with the World Bank for the preparation of a national climate-resilient investment programmme, which included consultations with the public, private […]
Representatives from the Government of Japan were in Belmopan today for the official handing over of a much needed garbage collecting truck. Mayor Khalid Belisle received the compactor on behalf of the Belmopan City Council. The mayor says that it took a little over two years to secure the vehicle which will transport garbage to […]
In southern Belize, Abalone Caye is part of a reserve co-managed by TIDE, the Toledo Institute for Development. The caye stretches for half an acre within the larger Port Honduras Marine Reserve. Because of its strategic location, it is vulnerable to a host of illegal activities. But the caye is also suffering from major environmental […]
There was a brushfire in the vicinity of Lakeview Street this afternoon in Belize City and personnel from the National Fire Service had to be called out to extinguish the blaze. It is believed that the cause of the fire may have debris that is thrown in the overgrown area. Thick white smoke could be […]
The Eco-Marketplace Expo is in full swing at the Biltmore Plaza. It got underway this morning and a number of artistic, as well as creative business persons, are using the event to bring exposure to their products which they created with local products. The array is wide, ranging from jewelry to environmentally conscious products as […]
The extended period of dry weather that has been affecting central and northern Belize persists and threatens to adversely affect the agriculture industry in the Corozal and Orange Walk districts. According to climatologist, Ronald Gordon, of the National Meteorological Service, drought warnings have been issued for the past few months and notwithstanding a change in […]
While rainfall is predicted towards the end of September and early October, the peak period between June and November would have already elapsed. Ronald Gordon, Climatologist, National Met Service “Having said that, most of the models that we look at for the long term are suggesting that rainfall will become normal heading towards the […]
At its last sitting, the House also approved an amnesty programme for land taxes. Millions of dollars will be written off in taxes owed to government. When the Bill came up in the House, Lake Independence Representative Cordel Hyde pointed out that small land owners will not be benefitting from the programme and that in […]
A partnership between the Protected Areas Conservative Trust and the Getch Foundation is seeking to invest nine hundred and five thousand dollars in improving the resilience of Belize’s coastal and marine resources to the negative impact of climate change. The initiative will focus on four protected areas including the Port Honduras Marine Reserve, specifically Abalone […]
The Eco-Marketplace Expo is taking place at the Biltmore on Wednesday. It’s an event where suppliers of eco-friendly products showcase their goods and services. The expo is a partnership between Oceana Belize and Caribbean Culture and Lifestyle. This afternoon, we stopped in at the Biltmore for a sneak peek as various participating companies began their […]
An estimated five hundred persons came out on Friday night for the first public consultation on the state of the New River in Orange Walk Town. Now, we have been reporting that the condition of the river has been getting so bad that residents say it is worst it has ever been. Pesticides, fertilizers and […]
Following the public meeting with the Department of the Environment, Friends of the New River, a non-profit organization, started a petition seeking signatures to press the Department of the Environment into swift action. Friends of the New River, was established in mid 2017 to promote and monitor the health of the New River. In the […]
The New River is not the only water body in Belize that is severely ill. Doctor Ed Boles, an environmental educator and consultant who was one of the presenters at the public meeting in Orange Walk Town last Friday says he has only recently did a study on the state of Garbutt Creek in the […]
Also in the west, there are environmental concerns by residents living along the Macal River. The concerns prompted a public meeting among residents and other stakeholders on the night of August twenty-third. According to reports, low water levels in the river attracted the public’s attention. There is also a notable increase in the growth of […]
The Toledo District is rich with natural resources; it is home to pristine rainforests, mountains, an extensive cave network, rivers, offshore cayes and much more. It is also where TIDE, the Toledo Institute for Development and Environment co-manages protected areas on land and sea. Over the weekend, News Five joined TIDE on a visit to […]
There was a rare sighting of a Mountain Lion, also known as a Puma in Ladyville Village on Sunday. The sighting happened between four and four thirty on Sunday afternoon at a residence in the Lake Gardens Area in the village. According to Carmen Brown, she was inside her home when she heard several dogs […]
Tonight, representatives of the Department of the Environment are holding a public meeting at Orange Walk Town to address concerns on the deteriorating health of the New River. For several months now, the condition of the river has declined and it has turned into a milky green hue and a foul stench is emanating from […]
Data collected from the National Meteorological Service of Belize confirms a short-term drought developing over the Corozal, Orange Walk and northern Belize Districts. This drought is gravely affecting the farmers across the districts and causing great financial loss. The below-average rainfall, however, was predicted by the Met Service and the affected areas are under a […]
Meanwhile, areas under a short-term drought watch where short-term drought is also possible include southern Belize such as Stann Creek and the extreme northeastern portion of the Toledo district near Savannah. Areas under a long-term drought watch where long-term drought is possible to include the Belize and Cayo districts as well as most of the […]
The House sitting on Friday was chock full of write offs. Aside from debt write-offs, a general pardon has been granted by G.O.B. to a handful of landowners who are considerably behind on land and speculation taxes. The amnesty, which is the third such exercise since the United Democratic Party took office in 2008, continues […]
Last week, news of mangrove clearing and dumping of trash for landfill in San Pedro started to circulate online. According to the island’s newspaper, the San Pedro Sun, residents started to see the cutting of mangroves several weeks ago. The papers reported that loads of sargassum, as well as garbage, have been dumped into the […]
