Over the past several months, the S.I.B. has also been busy working with the Department of the Environment to produce what will be known as environmental statistics, which will be included in future publications. The study is one of several activities that the autonomous body has been engaged with in 2018, aside from embarking upon […]
Belize is one of three countries participating in a three-year pilot project which aims to contribute towards developing an enabling national policy and regulatory frameworks for the sustainable management of the oceans and strengthening capacities of coastal developing countries. The first phase of the project began today in Belize City where stakeholder met to review […]
For the past five weeks, a group of environmentalists have been participating in the Commonwealth Marine Economies Programme. The team from the National Oceanography Centre is in Belize taking samples from the rivers and waterways to determine whether higher levels of carbon dioxide being deposited into the Caribbean Sea is negatively affecting the barrier reef. […]
The twenty-fourth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate, known as COP24, will take place in Poland from December second to the fourteenth. The key objective of this year’s conference is to adopt the implementation guidelines of the Paris Agreement. It brings together world leaders and champions of the environment […]
And so if you’re wondering what exactly the IPCC Report means for the small island developing states; the news is grim. For coral reefs and other vulnerable ecosystems it may mean a massive die out if we can’t keep global temperatures down to one point five degrees Celsius. Fuller said that the report has a […]
Aquatica Submarines has teamed up with businessman and philanthropist Richard Branson, documentary filmmaker and ocean conservationist Fabien Costeau and the Roatan Institute of Deep Sea Exploration to do an expedition to the bottom of the Great Blue Hole. The team will collect scientific data and carry out a sonar scan of the interior of the Blue Hole, […]
A biennial meeting of the regional energy sector was held in Placencia today, where the Caribbean Sustainable Energy Forum is being hosted. The focus of the gathering is to look at issues relating to renewable energy, as well as energy efficiency. Devon Gardener is the head of the Energy Unit at the CARICOM Secretariat. […]
There has been significant progress in the area of renewable energy, where several CARICOM countries have developed strategies to support the development of clean energy. Devon Gardener, Head of Energy Unit, CARICOM Secretariat “Certainly we have had a number of advances on the renewable energy side. A number of countries have been developing policies […]
The Caribbean is one of three major hotspots of marine biodiversity in the world, but its ecosystems are under pressure from over-fishing, climate change, pollution and other impacts. Conservationists and government have implemented a number of programmes to address these issues in Belize, from replenishment zones to managed access, to patrols and enforcement. But to […]
In October, the Belize Tourism Board and the Ministry of Tourism revealed their plan to address the massive influx of sargassum in four tourism destinations in Belize. Beaches in San Pedro, Caye Caulker, Placencia and Hopkins have been invaded by the brown, foul and invasive macro-algae. The Government located one and half million dollars to […]
Coalition for Sustainable Fisheries fired off a release today expressing concerns over the functionality of the Gillnet Task Force, which was formed in February to reduce the harmful impacts of gillnets. The year is coming to an end and according to the Coalition; the task force has only held one meeting since members were appointed. […]
The Belize Coalition for Sustainable Fisheries is demanding that the Ministry of Fisheries release the composition of the members of the Gillnet Task Force as well as the list of fishers who have been given permission to use gillnets. According to the Belize Federation of Fishers, Nigel Martinez, the Coalition has made moves to file […]
The Fisheries Department and its partners have been revising the Fisheries Bill, which they hope to see approve in the near future. The changes aim to make the existing act comprehensive and are expected to give it new teeth through additional regulations and a number of updates. This revised bill, once approved and enacted, will […]
Since Monday of this week, more than twenty Wildlife Conservation Society representatives, including programme officers and country directors from around the world, have been meeting in Belize. The organization, which has an office here in Belize City, hosts a global marine meeting every few years to bring together personnel to re-strategize for future conservation work. […]
The opportunities to conduct research in Belize have been growing and if you ask about marine research, you’ll find out that those opportunities are endless. From mangroves to fin-fish, turtle and coral research, Belize has been recognized as an ideal location for these kinds of scientific work. In southern Belize, about forty-five kilometers off the […]
A three-day information gathering session continued today in Belize City. Climate change stakeholders, led by the World Wildlife Fund, are participating in a regional project which aims to mainstream climate related principles into marine protected area management and coast development policies. According to W.W.F. Climate Risk Management Lead, Ryan Bartlett, the project focuses on countries […]
Over the weekend, five gillnets were removed from the Turneffe Atoll Marine Reserve, located some twenty miles off the coast of Belize. Recently, a report circulated that illegal gillnets were being used within the protected area and that there was need for intervention on the part of authorities, including the park managers. The Turneffe Atoll […]
The use of gillnets have been a perennial issue and Cabinet has formed a task force with relevant partners to address the sustainability of fishing practices in Belize and the livelihoods of fishers in the area. The TASA says there is need for greater enforcement efforts in the protected area, but the process is clear […]
Construction has resumed at Sand Lighter’s promenade in Belize City. A stop order issued by the Department of Environment in October to businessman Haisam Diab has been lifted. The letter advising Diab that construction can resume was sent on Monday and works are currently underway. The stop order was issued after DOE raised concerns over […]
The seaweed epidemic which continues to affect tourism destinations across the country persists without a long-term remedy. In the meantime, government has stepped in to provide relief to seafront businesses that are being affected by sargassum. The initiative to make available one and a half million dollars for the cleaning up of four prime coastal […]
Minister of Tourism, Manuel Heredia Jr., explains how the earmarked funds will be used across the affected areas. He says that berms will be placed at specific locations to mitigate the inflows of sargassum. Reporter “Could you tell us some of the ways in which this one point five million [dollars] will be used […]
Meet the 2018 Ocean Hero Award Winners—they are Captain Earl David Junior and Michael Heusner. The men were recognized over the weekend by OCEANA in Belize for their individual contributions to ocean conservation. David Junior has lived and worked in the South Water Caye Marine Reserve as a seaman, captain and fisherman and has advocated […]
The Coastal Zone Management Authority and Institute is observing Coastal Awareness Week. As a part of the activities, the fourth annual coastal awareness trivia challenge was held in Belize City this morning. Ten primary schools from Belize City participated to show their knowledge on coastal resources, threats and management practices in Belize. We spoke with […]
Last week we showed you how the Chunox beneficiaries of the Belize Audubon Society’s small grants programme are using their grants to improve their standard of living and to reduce fishing pressures. Since 2012, BAS has been working with fisherfolk in Chunox, Copper Bank and Sarteneja in Corozal. In these communities, more than fifty-percent of […]
There is another programme that Belize Audubon Society helped to establish in Copper Bank Village – it’s called the Community Credit Enterprise. Back in 2009, Audubon sought the assistance of donors and other partners, including an organization from Costa Rica called FINCA which provided the training to implement the programme. The aim was to fund […]
