An operation conducted by officers attached to the Forest Department has yielded a significant haul of illegally harvested rosewood. On Wednesday, a site inspection at a woodwork factory in Benque Viejo Town led to the discovery of thirty thousand board feet of flitches. The pieces of lumber did not bear any official markings or documentations […]
During the annual general meeting of the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association over the weekend, farmers were informed of the recent suspension of the association from Fair-trade. The Association claims that the suspension came about as a result of an audit which exposed three areas of non-compliance due to the wrongful delivery of sugar cane […]
It’s the thirtieth of November and it is a day when a lot of people let out a sigh of relief- particularly those who live in low lying areas and along the coast. It is the end of the 2016 Atlantic Hurricane Season- one that has been above normal and went as predicted. Belize didn’t […]
SATIIM co-manages the Sarstoon Temash National Park and according to them, they were intercepted by the GAF recently when they were on a patrol of the area. The N.G.O. says illegal activities have been ongoing inside the national park and along that area in the Sarstoon. These activities include illegal logging, hunting of endangered species […]
It has been a while since we’ve heard from the Friends of Conservation and Development, but just this week, Executive Director Raphael Manzanero was in London on official FCD business. On Tuesday, he was at Buckingham Palace for the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy. It is a project designed to create a network of forest conservation initiatives […]
A report of the latest military encounter on the Sarstoon River, involving village leaders, as well as a team of and park rangers attached to SATIIM, has been filed with the Belize Defense Force. This encounter comes several weeks after B.D.F. personnel came into contact with members of the Guatemalan Armed Forces as they traversed […]
Since losing its co-management agreement in July 2013, SATIIM has been virtually on its own as far as monitoring illegal activities within the expansive broadleaf, wetland and mangrove forest. The fact that the organization is operating without official sanction leaves its rangers vulnerable to encounters with GAF soldiers. Tzalam, who took over from former Executive […]
Following a period of relative calm and somewhat downplayed encounters, activities by the Guatemalan armed forces in the Sarstoon, are sparking up again in southern Belize. A few days ago, the rangers of SATIIM, the N.G.O. that monitors the area, were stopped by the GAF while on patrol. The encounter was recorded and the video […]
The Government has completely backtracked, for now at least, on the issue of seismic testing, cancelling the visit of one ship scheduled to do testing but allowing another that will perform less invasive testing. The environmental community has gotten Belmopan to budge somewhat on its eight-point agenda for lifting a Government-placed moratorium on offshore petroleum-related […]
Are you looking for ways to make your home or business more energy and electricity efficient? You may not know, but there are companies in Belize that can help you make big cost-saving changes. Today, the Caribbean Community Climate Change Center held the first business to business energy waste and renewable energy fair in the […]
Government confirmed today that regional offshore seismic survey has been cancelled. The survey was initially suspended on October twentieth following public outcry from tourism stakeholders and the N.G.O. community. Immediately after, the seismic vessel, Seabird Northern Explorer, departed Belize. So, why was the seismic survey called off? As we found out, it was a decision […]
Tonight there is a report of damage to fisheries and the marine environment in southern Belizean waters. The Southern Environmental Association reports that it has come across the construction of a tourism related development currently occurring in southern Belize on Gladden Caye. According to SEA, last Wednesday, its personnel spotted workers of Lowen Construction Limited […]
The government is seeking to recover almost a million dollars paid in compensation to Andre Vega, the son of the former DPM and Minister of Natural Resources as well as from attorney Sharon Pitts. Both Vega and Pitts were paid four hundred thousand dollars each as compensation for land that was sold to them when […]
The Government of Belize has responded to the Belize Coalition to Save our Natural Heritage, putting aside for now the issue of legislating the currently policy-based moratorium on activities relating to exploring for petroleum offshore Belize. C.E.O. in the Ministry Economic Development and Petroleum Yvonne Hyde has written to say that Government is satisfied that […]
So, is this a step forward or a step backward? And will it move the Coalition even slightly from its position that a complete ban on offshore petroleum-related activity of any kind should be banned? We asked Amanda Burgos Acosta to respond. Amanda Burgos-Acosta, Executive Director, Belize Audubon Society “Our position has remained resilient […]
Incessant rains across the country have inundated parts of Belize City and the weekend forecast indicates that there are more showers ahead. The downpour began in the wee early hours of Wednesday and has remained a prominent weather feature since, dumping almost six inches of rainfall on the Old Capital. While there is no weather […]
There is a bit of sad news coming out of the Belize Zoo tonight. One of its beloved residents, Lucky Boy, has passed away. According to the zoo, the twenty-year-old Black Jaguar had been ailing for a while and there were indications of cancer growth in his intestines. But for the past two weeks Lucky […]
On Monday, Minister of Tourism Manuel Heredia Junior, while confirming that Government is committed to maintaining its moratorium on offshore petroleum exploration activity, remained insistent that Belize needed to at least move toward exploring its opportunities with petroleum under the sea bed. His comments come in the wake of Government suspending operations by an international […]
There does not appear to be much of a debate on the issue of seismic testing in Belize’s offshore waters – at least, not if you ask the environmentalists, who firmly believe they have the full support of the electorate. But as Government continues to weigh its options, the members of the Belize Coalition to […]
As we reported, the Cabinet met last week to consider the plans for legislating the moratorium on activities related to offshore exploration for petroleum and conditions for lifting that moratorium. Following that sitting, Tourism Minister Manuel Heredia has confirmed that the moratorium and conditions originally proposed last year will remain in place, though he argues […]
For many, the company conducting the testing, TGS, came out of nowhere. But OCEANA’s Janelle Chanona reported that its relationship with the Government has been long-standing and it is clear that they were after one thing, and one thing only. Janelle Chanona, Vice-President, OCEANA Belize “What we have been told that government has had […]
Last Tuesday, cabinet officially suspended seismic testing that was being conducted offshore by an international company, TGS. Reeling from scandal to scandal and following a remarkable manifestation of people’s power, government bowed to pressure from environmentalists as well as residents on San Pedro and Caye Caulker who were vocal about the potential risks to the […]
In advance of Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, the Belize Coalition to Save Our Natural Heritage wrote to Prime Minister Dean Barrow on Monday seeking clarifications and statements on several issues. The Coalition is asking for information on the recent multi-beam and seismic testing activities in Belize, including all agreements and contracts between TGS, the company in […]
Cabinet met on Tuesday and as we reported, the matter of the seismic testing in Belize’s waters, which many fear is the first step to exploring for oil in our deepest seas, was discussed. However, nothing has been issued on record as to Cabinet’s position. Today we spoke with the Belize Tourism Industry Association Executive […]
Today, the environmentalists also showed us a video package of separate interviews granted to the media in February of 2012 and May of 2015, in which no less than Prime Minister Dean Barrow himself appeared to support both the idea of a moratorium and plans for a referendum on offshore oil exploration. Tonight, we recap […]
