San Pedranos are up in arms about a proposed development within the Hol Chan Marine Reserve. A small caye called Cayo Rosario was sold off to a private developer and since acquiring the land, San Pedranos say that the developer has published plans to build several structures over water. It is a massive proposed development […]
Over the past few months, the Wildlife Conservation (WCS) has been rolling out a mobile app used to determine local fish consumption. The app, which is compatible with android phones, is being utilized to record which species of fish and how many pounds are being eaten. It is just one part of a bigger sustainable […]
One week ago, we reported on the apparent pollution of the New River in the area of Orange Walk Town as well as villages to the north and east, including San Estevan, Trial Farm, and San Jose. Toxic chemical waste from ponds overlooking the river are leaching into it, causing the deaths of hundreds of […]
Friends for Conservation and Development is reporting that the “Yes” vote to the International Court of Justice may have embolden the Guatemalans because since then, they have been increased incursions deep within Belizean territory. Just this week, the FCD’s rangers were on patrol and found new survey lines and crops as deep as two point […]
The result of the recent referendum on taking the unfounded Guatemalan claim on Belize to the International Court of Justice in Guatemala has led to a renewed assault on Belizean resources, according to Friends for Conservation and Development. On Tuesday, May eighth, F.C.D.’s rangers in the south Chiquibul National Park found plantations of beans, corn […]
Residents of Orange Walk Town and surrounding villages are on alert tonight as the New River has suffered another fish kill. Hundreds of river fish such as tilapia and tarpon came up dead and floating in the last few days, though most have now been scavenged by river birds such as the white egret. At […]
There is concern by villagers in Maya Mopan, Stann Creek where for some time now, persons from neighboring Santa Maria Village have been illegally logging in the area. Today, Alcalde Constancio Teul traveled to Belize City and visited with News Five where he confirmed that permits were issued to a resident to remove forest produce […]
Alcalde Constancio Teul says that he is also reaching out to the Ministry of Natural Resources because two plots of land in Maya Mopan Village, where the illegal logging has been taking place, were recently surveyed. Who authorized the survey and why is not known. But Teul fears that there may be hanky-panky afoot. […]
It may be one of the most-recognized and well-known villages in Belize and particularly the Garifuna community. But the southern community of Barranco is fighting a tough battle to get in touch with the times, in the area of economic development. Barranco residents have been forced to look on as outsiders acquire licenses to log […]
The November agreement was approved by a supermajority of attendees at a meeting in Toledo. Among other things, it called for the Barranco village council to be fully involved in the decision-making process for logging concessions and activity in the village. But according to Fabian Cayetano, it has been so heavily flouted as to prove […]
A total of ten applications have been received – five from Barranco residents and five from persons outside the village. Apart from the disallowed concession application of Colon and Rash, there is no indication that any of the other applications are for overlapped areas. The size of the logged area is especially huge – eight […]
From the deep south comes a story of unfair treatment in one of Belize’s oldest and most well-known villages. Five residents of the village of Barranco say they have applied for logging licenses, but were all rejected. However, there is said to be logging going on in the village without the consultation and agreement of […]
On April seventeenth, the team consisting of Jamal Galvez from Sea to Shore Alliance, a Port Officer and OCEANA personnel, was on routine patrol monitoring no wake zones along the Belize City coast and the Belize River. The patrol is conducted through partnership with the MARFund project to ensure that boaters are compliant with the […]
In 2017, forty manatees were killed along the Belize City coastline and the mouth of the Belize River due to watercraft collisions. Statistics show that there are already twenty dead so far this year, which is cause for concern. Galvez says that it is not uncommon for the manatees to travel further up the Belize […]
We regularly report on nationals of Guatemala and Honduras caught in Belizean waters with illegally captured produce, but rarely in the other direction. But according to Guatemalan media reports, on Tuesday morning three men were picked up by Guatemalan military personnel near Livingston. Prensa Libre reports that radar on the Guatemalan side warned of a […]
A number of projects are being undertaken in eleven villages within the Toledo District through Humana People to People Belize. Those initiatives include the improvements of physical infrastructure, as well as early warning systems for reduced risk to natural hazards. Touring the projects was NEMO Minister Edmond ‘Clear the Land’ Castro. He shared his impression […]
The dry season is upon us and along with it come erratic weather patterns. On Tuesday, there was a freak storm down south in the Crique Jute Village. Officials say that there were similar patterns across the country, including the Spanish Lookout Community in the west, attributed to the high temperatures being experienced. Forecasters at […]
Two illegal Guatemalan fishers were busted inside the Port Honduras Marine Reserve. A joint patrol of the site’s rangers and coast guard discovered the fishers within the protected area just before two on Sunday morning. A check on the boat led to the discovery of a gill net being used to catch fish. Also on […]
Three Honduran fishers are behind bars tonight after they were charged for fishing illegally within a marine protected area. Southern Environmental Association and Belize Coast Guard were on a joint patrol on Monday night within the spawning aggregation zone at the Gladden Spit and Silk Cayes Marine Reserve. There, they arrested three illegal fishers, seized […]
Manatee Appreciation Day is celebrated annually on the twenty-ninth of March. In lieu of the Easter Holidays, the folks over at Sea to Shore Alliance launched a face board at the B.T.L. Park. The mission is to create further awareness on the sea cow and the issues surrounding its safety. Belize has the healthiest population […]
Last week, the Government announced that it will phase out single use plastic bags and Styrofoam products. It is big news for the country and a first for the region. The move comes at a time when an initiative is being rolled out by the Solid Waste Management Two Project where residents are being encouraged […]
The government says that it wants to reduce plastic and Styrofoam pollution through the phasing out of single-use plastic shopping bags and Styrofoam and plastic food utensils by April twenty-second 2019. But what will happen when the products are no longer imported? G.O.B. says that there will be no void because there are products on […]
A study has been undertaken to find out how mangrove cover has changed in the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System World Heritage Site and across Belize between 1980 and 2017. After three months, the researchers presented their findings today. There is some good news to celebrate – within the Barrier Reef Reserve System, there has […]
The Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital says that it is operating on an ‘emergency mode’ after a section of the hospital’s roof collapsed. According to the hospital, a preliminary structural assessment shows a need for immediate reinforcement to a section of the building. The necessary repair has started and is affecting key areas within the K.H.M.H., […]
There is some progress to report concerning the implementation of the historic April 2015 Consent Order on communal land rights. The Maya Leaders Alliance and Toledo Alcaldes Association, representing the Maya villages of the Toledo District, and the Government of Belize have set some deadlines concerning the setting up of a dispute resolution framework between […]
