The Chiquibul National Park and the preservation of the bountiful resources within its boundaries are once more in the forefront. The uphill struggle to monitor, manage and defend this huge protected area has long been the yoke of the Friends for Conservation and Development, FCD. But this time the FCD has been joined in the […]
According to Castellanos the illegal incursions are caused by poverty, but that poverty is used to great effect by organized crime cartels which reap the lucrative dividends of the illegal labor. Byron Castellanos, Executive Director, BALAM “The greatest threats are those that you can see listed there – the extraction of flora and fauna, […]
There is big news tonight coming out of the largest new industry in the west of the country. Santander, located in Valley of Peace in the Cayo District, recently started exporting sugar from its state of the art processing facility on twenty-thousand acres. The company employs eight hundred, and represents an investment of almost two […]
The stop order was not to close the factory down, but rather to give the company strict notice that it must act immediately to remedy what in some cases were deliberate breaches. On the Phone: Colin Young, C.E.O., Ministry of the Environment “There were four or five things if I can recall. One was […]
Since the start of the year, silt and filth accumulated in the Belize City Habour between the Fort Street Tourism Village and Bliss Center for the Performing Arts. But today, we found the harbor is back to norm with water flowing freely up to the seawall. For the past three weeks, dredging has been occurring […]
The coastguard’s noticeable absence from the immediate vicinity of the Sarstoon River essentially leaves Guatemalan fisher folks free to operate in Belizean waters illegally. Despite an initial presence in the area, the Ministry of National Security acknowledges that for the coastguard to be effective in arresting illegal fishing within Belizean waters, a team has to […]
The UNESCO World Heritage Committee has decided to keep the Belize Barrier Reef System on the List of World Heritage in Danger. That decision comes after a meeting today in Istanbul, Turkey. The reason given by the committee is due to the continued threats from oil exploration, damaging coastal construction and pollution. Notwithstanding that decision, […]
The destructive nature of gillnet fishing remains a perennial issue for the Fisheries Department. It is also a serious concern for conservationists, as well as environmentalists, since the practice results in the random capture of unwanted species. While those organizations have been active in discouraging the use of large commercial fishing nets, the Belize National […]
A major concern brought up at the Reef Scorecard forum hosted by relevant stakeholders on Thursday was the issue of the Fisheries Act which has not yet been passed. And a major aspect of that Act will be strict guidelines and policies on fishing in Belizean waters. There is some impatience on the part of […]
OCEANA supports a comprehensive approach to fishing which would include policies and structure as well as support for fisherfolk, since so many in the country depend on the industry for their survival, and that industry is in some peril. Vice President Janelle Chanona acknowledges that it won’t happen overnight, but she does want to see […]
Where gillnets are concerned, News Five have seen those in extensive use primarily in the southern waters of the country, near the Sarstoon. And it’s not by local fishermen, but by Guatemalans whose livelihood is dependent on illegal fishing within Belize. According to Chanona the Coast Guard has also expressed concern via conversations and formal […]
Today, various entities dedicated to the important work of preserving and protecting our natural heritage presented what they are calling a reef scorecard. It’s all about getting Belize’s Barrier Reef System off the World Heritage Site’s endangered list, where it has languished since 2009. So is enough being done to ensure that happens anytime soon? […]
The gist of the report card session today is that the government is doing some things right, but there is more that needs to be done, and more that needs to be done sooner rather than later. So what exactly is the holdup? Valentino Shal, World Wildlife Fund “If you look 2009 to now […]
Of the six indicators, G.O.B. received the worst marks in the area of environmental regulations. Candy Gonzalez was scathing in her evaluation, and told News Five that recent projects have shown that developers have a definite impact on the decisions made by the Department of the Environment. Candy Gonzalez, President, Belize Institute of Environmental […]
And while developers have an impact on the movement by G.O.B. entities like the Department of the Environment, Gonzalez says there is also a definite impact on the N.G.O. community – a sort of double play by the developers and by the government. Candy Gonzalez, President, Belize Institute of Environmental Law & Policy “I […]
The Sarstoon River remains a question mark. There are no official rules of engagement or protocols. As far as News Five has proven, civilians cannot go in there. We’ve been stopped by armed Guatemalan soldiers every time we’ve tried. There’s a timeline of sorts for a compromise of sorts, tentatively the end of the year. […]
The Fisher of the Year Award Ceremony was held in Belize City this morning to acknowledge fisher folks, men and women, who have been outstanding in their effort to secure sustainable small-scale fisheries. The event was held at the Coastal Zone Training Room where representatives from the Wildlife Conservation Society, as well as other stakeholder […]
Guadalupe Lampella has been a fisherwoman for over forty-five years. She was selected as the Outstanding Fisher Folk for 2016 after meeting the criteria of participating in the decision-making process, assuming her responsibility for sustainability and contributing to food security. Guadalupe Lampella, Outstanding Fisher Folk 2016 “I have to say first of all that […]
What is the future of the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System as a UNESCO World Heritage Site? That’s the question conservationists are asking in light of international attention focused on the vulnerability of the barrier reef. According to an announcement from the World Wildlife Fund, a World Heritage Committee has released a draft decision pertaining […]
The UNESCO World Heritage Committee will convene in Istanbul, Turkey in July to debate the status of some of the most extraordinary natural places on the planet. This includes the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System. Earlier this year, WWF called for greater protection of the barrier reef from harmful industrial activities such as oil, gas […]
While the Reporter’s Editorial is found to be lacking in accuracy, another article in circulation today puts perspective in what really is happening in the Chiquibul. Renowned professional photographer Tony Rath recently accompanied Friends of Conservation and Development into the depths of the Chiquibul National Park in Western Belize. His trip into the vast wilderness […]
Today, the Protected Areas Conservation Trust, PACT, hosted a forum intended as an engagement with PACT’s stakeholders to inform them of the organization’s plan of operations for the year ahead. That has become necessary because PACT’s role and function was expanded as a result of an amendment to the PACT Act which passed in October […]
The forum will also provide stakeholders with valuable information on the categories which will be considered for the always coveted PACT grants. Each year the organization provides grant funding to select co-managers of protected areas to be allocated in very specific areas. Young says that this year there are three categories for funding to the […]
The third area being funded is anything related to protected areas management, including assistance to co-managers to meet the requirements of their co-management agreement and protected areas management plan. So where will PACT get the money to feed its newly expanded role and more hands-on management approach? Young explained today that in a recent financial […]
It’s been one year since a Guatemalan gunboat ran aground in Belize’s littoral waters near Glovers Reef; it was reportedly navigating international waters en route to Mexico, when it drifted on to the reef on June eleventh, 2015. Two weeks later, on June twenty-sixth, 2015, a Mexican naval boat also ran aground on the reef […]
