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It has been five years since thousands of Belizeans voted in an unofficial referendum called “The People’s Referendum” coordinated and spearheaded by The Coalition to Save our Natural Heritage and Oceana Belize. The initiative was to send a clear message to Government about how the people felt about offshore oil drilling; the result was overwhelming […]
Written on February 28, 2017 | Posted in
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Comments Off on The People’s Referendum, Five Years After
Over a week ago, we told you about the discovery of what is believed to be a new species of sharks in Belize. Since 2000, a researcher from the Florida International University has been working in Belize on a number of fisheries projects including the biology of sharks. So, about seventeen years ago the researcher […]
Written on February 16, 2017 | Posted in
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Comments Off on A New Species of Bonnethead Shark Discovered in Belize
Over a week ago, you heard Senator Valerie Woods raised concerns in the Senate over a proposed beach development at Caye Chapel. The proposed works include a beach club and beach area measuring nine hundred and eighty-five feet long by ninety-eight feet wid. The concern centered on the point that the project was green-lighted by […]
Written on February 8, 2017 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Minister Says Environmental Compliance for Caye Chapel Project Granted
On Monday, the Forestry Department announced amendments to the Forest Act that provide for stiffer penalties for illegal logging. The increase in fines will be imposed on persons found with woods like Rosewood, Zericote and Mahogany and based on three key indicators. But the Department is giving the public a grace period to take in […]
Written on February 8, 2017 | Posted in
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Comments Off on New Penalties Target Illegal Logging
Over the past years, the Forest Department and its partners have joined efforts in addressing an increasing number of intense wildfires in remote forested areas. To strengthen the works of the teams that tackle these forest fires, five agencies received over a hundred thousand dollars in wildfire gears and equipment. The donation was funded through […]
Written on February 8, 2017 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Agencies Handed Fire-Fighting Gear
Today, the Belize Audubon Society hosted twenty-one tour guides, who successfully completed a first ever advanced level bird watching training program. Bird watching is a growing attraction of the tourism industry and over four hundred thousand visitors to the Jewel in 2016 were birders. The training was funded under the project of Strengthening Bird-based Tourism […]
According to Lizama, Belize is prime and ready to cater to the birding tourism market. The pilot training will see the Belize Tourism Board partner with the Audubon to continue programs for the tour guides. There were a total of twenty-one participants of which two are women. But according to tour guide Vladimir Rodriguez, the […]
Written on February 6, 2017 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Birding Now a Specialization for Tour Guides
Two fishermen appeared in the Independence Magistrate Court for possession of unprocessed and undersized conch. Sanasermo Torres was busted with forty-nine conch and Earl Lamb with eighty-six by rangers of the Southern Environmental Association in the Gladden Spit and Silk Cayes Marine Reserve. Both pleaded guilty and were fined accordingly. The SEA notes that the […]
Written on February 1, 2017 | Posted in
Crime,
Environment |
Comments Off on Illegal Conch Busted in Marine Reserve
Has the Department of the Environment cleared a planned beach creation on the popular island of Caye Chapel without the benefit of an environmental impact assessment? The question came up on the adjournment in Monday’s meeting of the Senate in Belmopan. P.U.P. Senator Valerie Woods reported that the owners of the project want to do […]
Written on January 31, 2017 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Who Authorized Beach Construction at Caye Chapel?
Two bills were held over from previous meetings of the National Assembly – the Forests (Amendment) Bill and International Insurance (Amendment) Bill. The latter provoked no discussion, but the former addresses penalties in relation to illegal harvesting of woods including rosewood and mahogany. During today’s debate in the Senate, the People’s United Party’s Valerie Woods […]
Written on January 30, 2017 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Rosewood More Valued Than Mahogany?
Over the weekend, a group of San Pedro residents marched peacefully through the streets before coming to a stop at the Central Park on the island. There, a public forum on offshore oil drilling in Belize commenced. The participants sent a resounding message to G.O.B., saying no to offshore oil drilling after weighing the odds. […]
It’s been five years since a referendum attempt by Coalition to Save Our Natural Heritage failed when Government announced that the N.G.O. was unable to gather the required eight thousand signatures that were needed to push the referendum on offshore drilling. With the now amended Referendum Act putting the threshold at a fifty percent, plus […]
Written on January 23, 2017 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Will Environmentalists Go for Referendum Again?
Are the multi-beam and sea seep survey done once and for all? We can confirm that the activities have been cancelled – but what we don’t know is if it means that there is no possibility of this kinda of proposed activities in the future. Earlier this week the Ministry of Economic Development issued a […]
Written on January 13, 2017 | Posted in
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People & Places |
Comments Off on Seismic testing canceled; environmentalists want to know what happens next
The Mayflower Bocawina National Park, in the Stann Creek District, covers over seven thousand, one hundred acres of verdant jungle, refreshing waterfalls and early Mayan sites. Located near Silk Grass Village, the vast expanse is mostly evergreen broadleaf, lowland and hill forest ecosystems. It is also under attack by illegal tree cutters and poachers. Earlier […]
Written on January 12, 2017 | Posted in
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Environment |
Comments Off on Illegal logging uncovered in Mayflower Bocawina National Park
The Chiquibul Forest Investment Initiative is a fifteen-million dollar Government project in collaboration with a number of high-profile organizations doing environmental work, including Friends for Conservation and Development. Volunteer with F.C.D., Valerie Woods, today said that even with the investment, additional money is needed to keep up with the continuous, unabated illegal logging and harvesting […]
Written on January 12, 2017 | Posted in
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Comments Off on F.C.D. still needs your help to save Chiquibul
Wil Maheia, the leader of the Belize Territorial Volunteers, continues to keep close watch on illegal activity at and near the mouth of the Sarstoon River, half of which is considered Belizean territorial waters. For the past few years, the area has seen persistent depletion of resources by Guatemalan fishermen who – with the exception […]
Written on January 11, 2017 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Guats Spread Gill Nets in Belizean Waters Down South
Jaws caused a spectacle today at the Quality Poultry Products compound on North Front Street in Belize City. The eight-foot croc was transferred from the American Crocodile Education Sanctuary in San Pedro to Belize City via boat before his handlers placed him in the cab of a pickup truck and whisked him off to his […]
Written on January 11, 2017 | Posted in
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People & Places |
Comments Off on “Jaws” Makes the Move from San Pedro to Sandhill
PASA Belize Limited, the operator of the solid waste transfer stations, suddenly informed Solid Waste Management Authority that they ceased operations effective Monday, January ninth. The halt of operations means that transfer stations of San Ignacio/Santa Elena, Burrell Boom, Belize City, San Pedro and Caye Caulker, as well as the Mile Twenty-Four Regional Sanitary Landfill […]
Written on January 10, 2017 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Dispute between PASA, Solid Waste Management Will Not Stop Garbage Disposal
The Marine Multibeam and Sea Seep Survey consultations have been cancelled. In a rather brief three line – one sentence – press release issued today by the Government Press Office, the Ministry of Economic Development and Petroleum informed the public that the consultations scheduled for the eighteenth and twenty-fifth of this month have been cancelled. […]
Written on January 10, 2017 | Posted in
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Comments Off on G.O.B. Cancels Consultations on Seismic Testing
The Forest Department is cracking down on the illegal harvesting of hardwood. Two major busts have been made in recent days in the west and south, which show that the illegal harvest of the precious wood continues despite the signing on to the CITES Convention. A Benque Viejo businessman, Miguel Angel Estala, appeared in the […]
Written on January 4, 2017 | Posted in
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Environment,
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Comments Off on Rosewood Busted in South and West; Stiffer Penalties for Offenders?
Government is holding a public consultation on marine multi-beam and Sea Seep Survey. In a release issued today, the Ministry of Economic Development and Petroleum says that they, along with the Geology Department, intend to complete the multi-beam and sea seep survey in the deep offshore territorial waters of Belize. The release says that the […]
Written on December 29, 2016 | Posted in
Environment |
Comments Off on Consultation on Multibeam and Seep Sea Survey Coming in January
Almost four weeks after officially opening its multimillion dollar cruise tourism investment on Harvest Caye, Norwegian Cruise Line formally invited members of the local media to visit the exclusive island getaway. It was our first and likely only invitation to the much talked about location and our news team made the most of the experience. […]
Written on December 16, 2016 | Posted in
Environment,
Featured |
Comments Off on Welcome to Harvest Caye: Alcatraz or Paradise?
How sustainable and environmentally sound is the process of developing tourism and industry projects, such as offshore drilling? Well, an initiative by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Forestry, the Environment, Sustainable Development and Climate Change, which started in 2015, is looking at that. Earlier this year, the Spanish firm Limia and Martin was hired to […]
Written on December 14, 2016 | Posted in
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People & Places |
Comments Off on Reviewing the Role of the Environmental Clearance Process
But to mitigate negative impacts is to identify alternative actions or technologies. According to Martin, one of his main recommendations is for the strengthening of the current legislation, making it more efficient for developers and other stakeholders. Emmanuel Martin, General Manager, Limia & Martin “The current schedules that define which projects needs to do […]
Written on December 14, 2016 | Posted in
Environment,
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People & Places |
Comments Off on New Legislation Will Classify Projects According to Size
Two point two-eight million dollars were disbursed today for the conservation and protection of natural reserves: Chiquibul, Vaca, Colombia and Bladen Forests. PACT is the donor agency that is contributing toward a larger initiative called the Chiquibul Forest Investment Initiative. Organizations that work in the area such as the Friends for Conservation and Development, received […]
Written on December 13, 2016 | Posted in
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People & Places |
Comments Off on Chiquibul Initiative Quartet Get Big Cheques
