The Belize Coalition to Save our Natural Heritage is challenging a statement made by the Minister of Forestry and Fisheries on Section twenty-two (one) of the Environmental Protection Act Chapter as it relates to the rescheduling of the public consultation for the US Capital Energy Exploratory Drilling Environmental Impact Assessment. The act says, “The Department […]
Thousands across the Caribbean depend on the queen conch for a living. There is currently a proposal being promoted by a US NGO to list the conch as an endangered species, which would stop its exportation to the United States. The move was discussed this week by Ministers of the Caribbean, who met in Antigua […]
The Sarstoon-Temash Institute for Indigenous Management, the Coalition to save Our Natural Heritage along with APAMO requested the government to delay consultations on an Environmental Impact Assessment developed by US Capital Energy Belize Limited for oil exploration and drilling in the Sarstoon Temash National Park. The request was made on the grounds that the communities […]
About one million pounds of conch are exported to the United States market per season. Combined, the conch and lobster represent as much as ninety percent of the total value of seafood exports. Aside from cuisine, the conch shell is used to produce exquisite jewelry. But there is currently a move to list the conch […]
There is potential controversy in the south where prospecting activities conducted by U.S. Capital Energy within the Sarstoon Temash National Park concluded earlier this year. The results of an environmental impact assessment will be discussed openly during consultations scheduled for later this month. But while plans are underway to meet with residents of various communities […]
Three Guatemalans have been killed this year in Belizean territory. The most recent was on October fifth when Francisco Quim Cab was killed in the Chiquibul. After a two year study in the Chiquibul National Park, Friends for Conservation and Development, which co-manages the park, released the dismal reports on the incursions that have been […]
The Coastal Zone Management Authority and Institute hosts a monthly educational series for members of the environmental community. The seminar series has been conducted by researchers and scientists who use very technical language. But for this month’s seminar, the CZMAI has taken a different approach and invited the host of the Wake Up Belize Show, […]
Three new publications were released today at the Leo Bradley Library. Their content covers a wide range of issues that focus on the abundant natural resources of the Jewel. One text will be used for research material in schools and the others will come in handy for investors since the content covers issues on many […]
A latest assessment on illegal activities taking place in the Chiquibul shows that the financial losses are consistently increasing. Friends for Conservation and Development says that a large area of the Chiquibul has been penetrated and that aside from the millions of dollars lost, the ecological impact is also damaging. News Five’s Delahnie Bain reports. […]
The illegal activities will not be easily deterred since Belize shares over forty kilometers of border with Guatemala and there are sixty-eight communities on the other side. But Raphael Manzanero believes it can be done through bi-national cooperation with Guatemala on an official level, since the FCD, as an NGO, is constrained. That is among […]
The Belize Barrier Reef and, by extension, Mesoamerica is under threat by coral bleaching. The event is normally triggered when warmer waters than usual enter the normal eco system and it is felt that due to higher temperatures from global warming, coral bleaching is likely to occur more regularly. If not managed, the process can […]
In a joint declaration, Heads of State and Government of both Central American and Caribbean countries who met at the third CARICOM-SICA Summit in San Salvador, El Salvador, last August, called on Belize to host the first high-level ministerial meeting of CRFM-OSPESCA. Its aim is to strengthen collaboration to manage the shared resources of the […]
Friends for Conservation and Development has been at the front lines against gold panning in the Chiquibul by Guatemalan nationals. When the illegal activities were first reported, there was a huge hue and cry because about three hundred Guatemalans were operating well within the national park. In an update to that story, the Department of […]
Over a thousand Belize City kids participated in summer activities by an organization called the Belize Camping Experience. The camps finished last week, but the coordinators do follow up visits with the participants throughout the year to offer mentoring and whatever assistance they may need in school. Like many summer programs, the Belize Camping Experience […]
Green Tropics is a Guatemalan company that intends to build a sugar factory, along with a refinery and cane fields complemented with an energy generation facility. But while its Environmental Impact Assessment was being reviewed, the company dug a canal approximately fifty feet wide and four miles long through a protected biological corridor. A stop […]
Last week the Coastal Zone Management Authority and Institute (CZMAI) and the Sea to Shore Alliance were informed about manatees who were harbored for days in Vista Del Mar near the Oar Restaurant. The assessment team found out that one manatee was seriously injured across its back and the fin on another was caught in […]
Lucky Boy is the rescued Black Jaguar that now calls the Belize Zoo, home. He was saved after he was left for dead in captivity in Southern Belize. Well, the Belize Wildlife Conservation Network along with the Forestry Department and the Zoo retrieved him from where he was left to starve. Lucky Boy, as he […]
A Stanford University doctoral candidate has been doing research in conservation practices in Belize for the past few years. During that time, Patrick Gallagher has worked with organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund, the Coastal Zone Management Authority and Institute (CZMAI), Ya’axche Conservation and the Green Reef Initiative. But most of his research has […]
Belize is internationally recognized for its conservation initiatives and vast protected areas. Today, a half day seminar organized by the United States Embassy, was held at the Radisson to discuss best practices when it comes to managing national parks. Leading the seminar was James Bacon, an outdoor recreation planner from the U.S. National Parks Service. […]
Kenneth Bruce, one of the village fishermen, says his main concern is losing his nets and he just wants them back. But according to the Protected Areas Manager in charge of the Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary, Dominique Lizama, Bruce’s nets were removed because he had them in a restricted area of the lagoon. Lizama explains […]
Village life is teeming with activity, as you’ve heard the Crooked Tree Villagers are concerned about fishing, and the Willow’s Bank group are preparing for their festival. But in Ladyville Village, there was an environmental concern today. Several manatees were sighted near the Oar House and Bar located in Vista Del Mar. That prompted the […]
Hundreds of fish have been dying in the Haulover Creek in the past few days. It is not known if toxins have been leaked in the river; however, it has become a nuisance for fisherman, Elic Logan and his family, who live on bank of the river in the Lake Independence area. Logan says that […]
Preliminary results have been released from an ongoing damage assessment in the Corozal District in the wake of Hurricane Ernesto, a category one storm which made landfall in the Yucatan Peninsula on Tuesday. While the destruction of infrastructure was minimal, accessibility to outlying areas, including Sarteneja and other coastal communities in the north, have been […]
Belize sells its tourism package as one of Mother Nature’s best kept secrets. But the country’s natural resources that have come under attack by Guatemalan peasants who look across the river to an abundance of wood and opportunity. A recent study has been conducted that shows much of Belize’s deforestation has occurred over the past […]
Pull out your hurricane preparedness plans because a category one strength hurricane is heading this way and the entire coast is under threat. Tropical Storm Ernesto has been on the radar for about a week; it was initially expected to head north into the Gulf of Mexico but Ernesto has shifted and now has his […]
