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This evening five environmental non-governmental organisations received grants from the Protected Areas Conservation Trust, PACT to carry out or expand already existing projects. The five groups are the Aguacaliente Management Team, the Community Baboon Sanctuary Women’s Group, the Belize Association of Private Protected Areas, the Indigenous People’s Conservation Alliance and Friends of Nature. Technical Programme […]
Written on December 6, 2007 | Posted in
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But while environmental groups received funding for their projects, they were not the only ones who received attention. Four Belizean journalists were recognized for excellence in their coverage of environmental stories in 2007. Kainie Manuel and Maria Novelo from the San Pedro Sun took the third place award for their piece on solid waste management, […]
Written on December 6, 2007 | Posted in
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Pardon the pun, but there is no hotter topic in the world today than the issue of climate change, better known as global warming. This year, in the launching of its annual Human Development Report, the United Nations Development Program has chosen climate change as its theme. The relationship between development and a warming planet […]
Written on November 28, 2007 | Posted in
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Today Central American representatives in the field of renewable energy gathered to review their progress and look at future ways of enhancing the industry. The discussions are part of the Energy and Environment Partnership with Central America’s Tenth Regional Forum on the topic. Both local and regional experts believe that renewable energy has tremendous potential, […]
Written on November 21, 2007 | Posted in
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Next week more than one hundred and fifty government, non-governmental, and private sector representatives from across Central America will meet in Belize for the tenth regional forum on renewable energy. Organized by the Energy and Environment Partnership with Central America and the Ministry of Natural Resources, the delegates will focus their discussions on “Renewable Energies […]
Written on November 15, 2007 | Posted in
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While environmental issues are always in the headlines, of late significant public outcry over the granting of petroleum exploration concessions, tourism development, and most recently, the integrity of protected areas has prompted local conservationists to present a unified position to policy makers in Belmopan. News Five’s Janelle Chanona explains. Mike Heusner, Belize Hotel Association “When […]
Written on November 8, 2007 | Posted in
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The newly appointed National Protected Areas Commission held its first meeting today in Belmopan. The body will advise the ministers responsible for protected areas and coordinate the various public, private, and civil society groups that administer the nation’s diverse parks and reserves. Members of the commission are co-chairs Chief Forest Officer Wilbert Sabido and Fisheries […]
Written on November 7, 2007 | Posted in
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If you ask any Belizean to name the star of the Belize Zoo, the voting would run heavily in favour or April the tapir, who at age twenty-four reigns supreme as queen of the world famous facility. But without slighting our national animal, April is not the zoo’s only celebrity. News Five’s Marion Ali reports. […]
Written on November 6, 2007 | Posted in
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If you look at old maps you’ll find that a half century ago the village of Monkey River was actually a town, and if you talk to the old heads you’ll hear about a busy sawmill, thriving commerce, and a bustling community. But the big logs eventually grew scarce, the mill shut down, and the […]
Written on November 6, 2007 | Posted in
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It seems that Belmopan’s decision to back off of plans to de-reserve almost three thousand acres of Bacalar Chico National Park was only part of its policy reversal. According to a release from the Association of Protected Areas Management Organizations, at a meeting held today with Minister of Natural Resources Florencio Marin and a number […]
Written on October 31, 2007 | Posted in
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It was almost an identical scenario to that which unfolded in the awarding of preferential oil leases to three well connected businessmen. That is, the Opposition leader cries scandal, the press and civil society jump in … and then government reverses its policy, saying it was all a misunderstanding in the first place. Today, in […]
Written on October 30, 2007 | Posted in
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In the aftermath of the Musa administration’s announcement that it plans to de-reserve almost three thousand acres of land in the Bacalar Chico National Park, local conservationists have been pooling their resources to launch a coordinated campaign to reverse the decision. This afternoon, the Association of Protected Areas Management Organizations and the Belize Tourism Industry […]
Written on October 29, 2007 | Posted in
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Today the first annual Hotel and Hospitality Expo was officially launched at the Princess Hotel in Belize City. According to organiser Robin McCutcheon, the one day event was designed to showcase service and décor items now available to the tourism industry. And as we found out, one of the newest additions to the market is […]
Written on September 27, 2007 | Posted in
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Residents of the Toledo district went to sleep worried last night after officials raised the possibility of severe flooding brought on by the remnants of Hurricane Felix as it crossed over Central America. But according to Chief Meteorologist Ramon Frutos, while there were several showery outbreaks directly associated with Felix in the south today, flooding […]
Written on September 5, 2007 | Posted in
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After the frightening experience of the last two weeks we can’t help but wonder what’s going wrong with our weather. According to one of our most experienced meteorologists, extreme events like Dean and Felix may become a fact of life, not only for Belize, but for anyone living in hurricane prone areas. Carlos Fuller, Meteorologist/Deputy […]
Written on September 4, 2007 | Posted in
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It is still over fourteen hundred miles from our shores … but with nowhere to go but west, the powerful hurricane named Dean will keep most Belizeans on edge this weekend. Today we made the rounds of those agencies at the centre of disaster preparedness efforts and found a mood of hoping for the best […]
Written on August 18, 2007 | Posted in
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First, let me preface this next story with an explanation that we report it not to cause any undue concern, but out of a healthy respect for the power of nature. Yes, there is a storm out there and while soon-to-be Hurricane Dean poses no immediate threat to Belize, it certainly bears watching. Jacqueline Godwin, […]
Written on August 15, 2007 | Posted in
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Scientists tell us that sea levels are rising due to global warming … but how do you measure the level of the sea if the land is also moving up and down? This week Belize became the sixth country in the Caribbean to install a device called a Continuously Operating Reference System, CORS. Located on […]
Written on August 3, 2007 | Posted in
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It may not be marked on your calendar but today is being observed as the first annual World Ranger Day. That’s ranger as in park ranger, and in Belize the Belize Audubon Society, manager of nine protected areas, is taking the lead in honouring its own twenty-four park rangers as well as others. Singled out […]
Written on July 31, 2007 | Posted in
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The jungles of the Cockscomb Basin were made famous in 1986 when scientist Dr. Alan Rabinowitz published “Jaguar.” By recounting the deadly fate of several of the large cats due to logging and hunting, the researcher highlighted the need for preservation and protection of the area. His efforts were successful, but for many Belizeans today […]
Written on July 20, 2007 | Posted in
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After years of bitter controversy, the Chalillo Dam was finally built on the upper Macal River and, as far as we know, in conjunction with the Mollejon facility has been quietly and efficiently providing Belize with lower cost power for over a year and a half. But not everyone is thrilled with the hydro system […]
Written on July 9, 2007 | Posted in
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It might seem strange, but for a number of years the United States has been paying Belize, and several other nations in the region, not to cut down trees. The initiative is called the Debt for Nature Swap Programme and was born of an agreement signed between the United States and eleven other countries. For […]
Written on July 6, 2007 | Posted in
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On a list of cataclysmic geological events it may not rank with the San Francisco earthquake, destruction of Pompeii or the eruption of the Mount Saint Helens volcano … but by Belizean standards the sudden draining of Five Blues Lake in 2006 was big news. But wait, the story gets better … much better, as […]
Written on July 3, 2007 | Posted in
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Ever since cruise tourism became a big business in Belize it has been viewed by environmentalists with sentiments ranging from disdain to horror. And while those feelings may be justified, a new initiative seeks to go beyond the rhetoric to ask the right questions … and hopefully find answers. Jacqueline Godwin, Reporting In 2006, approximately […]
Written on June 26, 2007 | Posted in
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A quick look around the global media scene shows there is no shortage of major issues facing our planet: AIDS, drug abuse, poverty, racism, gender based discrimination, and terrorism to name a few. But the cause that has most recently captured the public’s imagination is global warming–or as it is more scientifically called–climate change. Stewart […]
Written on June 26, 2007 | Posted in
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