The Friends for Conservation and Development is responsible for the monitoring and management of the Chiquibul, an area roughly the size of Belize City. It’s a challenging task, to say the least, and Manzanero says that part of the challenge is that the dynamics of encroachment are constantly changing. Rafael Manzanero, Executive Director, FCD […]
Illegal milpa farming may be the biggest challenge facing rangers in the Chiquibul, but the most dangerous one is drug cultivation which has been on the rise. Manzanero says that in some areas which are hotspots for marijuana growing, rangers stay away. He continues to call on the Belize Defense Force to have an active […]
Over the weekend, membership of the Association of Protected Areas Management Organizations, APAMO, participated in a working retreat to take a critical look at the role and direction necessary as co-managers of protected areas. The two-day meeting comes on the heels of an incident between the Guatemalan military and SATIIM rangers and that incident was […]
Over one million dollars were disbursed today by the Protected Areas Conservation Trust. Six entities were beneficiaries, with the largest sum going to the Belize Audubon Society for the sustainable management of three reserves which they co-manage. Others who received funding Steadfast Tourism and Conservation Association, the Community Baboon Sanctuary Women’s Conservation Group, the Sarteneja […]
This Tuesday was celebrated across the globe as World Water Day. In Belize, the activities since last week with a two-day water symposium held at the Biltmore Plaza. The symposium linked water to jobs and major companies spoke of the importance of protecting the natural resource, which is under threat. News Five’s Duane Moody reports. […]
News Five also took the opportunity to ask B.T.B. reps about the extreme case of siltation in the Belize City Harbor, particularly in front of the Bliss Center for the Performing Arts. The accumulating silt is reducing the channel used by water taxis and tenders in the area. Now traditionally, the Fort Street Tourism Village […]
Dangriga police have detained a Salvadoran national who was illegally fishing and hunting in the Cockscomb Basin Natural Reserve. On Friday morning, Belize Defense Force soldiers and rangers were on patrol in the area when they spotted two men in a kayak who attempted to escape detention by jumping into the Swasey River. Of the […]
For weeks now, there has been a build-up of silt in the area of Southern Foreshore in the Belize City Harbor. It’s an eyesore for an area that is traditionally teeming with tourist activity. The waters have receded and have become shallow in some areas; and as the silt builds-up traversing the channel becomes a […]
Healthy Reefs for Healthy People…an eco-audit is ongoing to determine how far Belize is in respect of a number of reef management measures. The launch of the audit took place today at the Radisson where marine conservation and research organizations are meeting. Environmentalists say that Belize is ahead in the management of the ecosystems and […]
This morning P.U.P. Leader John Briceño met with Prime Minister Dean Barrow at his office on Coney Drive in Belize City. It was a courtesy visit, but it comes at a time when the debate on the Sarstoon is raging. After the meeting Briceño confirmed that it did come up as a point of discussion. […]
While police and the Belize Coastguard made drug busts up north, the Fisheries Department also successfully conducted a bust at sea. Illegal fishing continues in Belizean waters despite all efforts by relevant agencies to stem the activity. On Tuesday, three men, none of them in possession of valid fishing licenses, were caught in the vicinity […]
Images of a recent shark kill prompted outcry from conservationists as well as from fisher folk. There are various challenges facing the fishing industry, including the use of gill nets but the main threats come from the illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. While some inroads have been made to curb these practices; the agencies that […]
The Belize Progressive Party, formed last year just before general elections, continues to maintain that it is a feasible option to the two mass parties which have dominated electoral politics in Belize. The B.P.P.’s mantra since inception has been dual-pronged – a strictly anti-corruption agenda coupled with an almost militaristic nationalism where the Belize/Guatemala dispute […]
The blockage on Saturday by the Guatemalan navy of the B.T.V. expedition continues to cause public outrage because there is a growing sentiment that Belize has lost the Sarstoon. Almost one year to date after a delegation from the Belize Territorial Volunteers was detained in Guatemala overnight; Saturday’s visit organized by Wil Maheia was to […]
The B.P.P. did not do spectacularly well in the 2015 general elections, but the Party was present and accounted for. According to leader Patrick Rogers, it is all part of a long term plan which assures them electoral success. Today the party achieved a major plank in that plan with the opening of headquarters in […]
In mid-January, Prime Minister Dean Barrow went on record, during an exclusive interview with News Five, to say that he was giving serious thought to the idea of a major financial investment in a cruise terminal in Belize City. The facility would be erected in Port Loyola, on a property adjacent to Port of Belize […]
The long neglected, long abandoned premier arena for football in Belize City is getting a new lease on life. Thanks to successive sports councils which seem to have been in a state of hibernation, the M.C.C. Grounds has fallen into serious disrepair. In stories past we’ve shown you the disservice done to the pitch by […]
Almost exactly one year ago, thirty-seven Belizeans maneuvering the Sarstoon were detained by Guatemalan military, taken under tow and escorted to Livingston. In fact, this Saturday will be the anniversary of that ill-fated trip organized by the Belize Territorial Volunteers and Northern Territorial Volunteers. The B.T.V. believes that there’s no better way to mark the […]
Two fishermen from Chunox, Corozal District, appeared for the second time in court for illegally fishing inside a natural monument. Marvin Patt, and his cousin Edison Patt were charged with illegal entry into the Blue Hole Natural Monument. They wasted no time and pleaded guilty before Magistrate Carlon Mendoza who imposed a fine of one […]
Two men plunged into the crocodile infested waters of New River, which runs through Orange Walk Town, on a whim on Monday evening. They would never surface again and this morning the body of twenty-one-year-old Carlos Reyes, was pulled out of the dark waters by a search team from the Belize National Coast Guard. Reyes […]
Images of a recent shark kill near Lighthouse Reef have sparked public outrage about the continued use of gill nets. While it is not believed that local fishermen are behind the lurid act, the use of this type of fishing gear is not outlawed in Belize. Earlier today, the Belize Game Fish Association spoke out […]
Nine years ago Junior Buddy was born at the Belize Zoo on the George Price Highway. Today, he celebrated another milestone in the company of school children from the area. We’ve been following Junior Buddy for years and today we found him as charming and graceful as he turned nine-years-old. Jaguars are extinct in other […]
There is outrage tonight in the conservation community as well as in other sectors due to a recent large kill of sharks near the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of the Blue Hole and Half Moon Caye at Lighthouse Reef Atoll. Images of dozens of dead sharks went viral on social media and according to the […]
The Conference of Parties 21, recently convened and concluded in Paris, has been dubbed a milestone session of world leaders where a concerted effort to understand, address and mitigate climate change is concerned. The challenge for CARICOM now lies in working out the tangible nuts and bolts which lead to binding treaty mechanisms and legislation. […]
The mosquito borne Zika has been declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the World Health Organization because it is believed it can cause microcephaly in newborns. So far, there are no confirmed cases in Belize, but the virus is transmitted by the aedes aegypti mosquito. As an individual country which is affected […]
