Over the weekend, residents of Dangriga and members of the southern town’s new council participated in a beach clean up designed to improve the area’s tourist image. According to organisers, the project is a joint effort between Town Hall and the Petters Research Institute. We understand volunteers, including Mayor Frank “Papa” Mena, began work on […]
Marine experts have certified that a pregnant manatee found dead along the shore in Buttonwood Bay was struck by a boat’s propellers. According to officials from the Belize Marine Mammal Stranding Network, during the necropsy performed on the carcass of the adult female, several severe injuries were found across its back. Experts tell News Five […]
In recent years, there have been several manatee deaths along the Belize City coastline, but this afternoon I visited the scene of what experts say is one of the strangest … and saddest … marine causalities in recent memory. Janelle Chanona, Reporting This has been the pitiful sight along the shore in Buttonwood Bay for […]
Climate change: it’s a term that for many conjures up images of deserts or snow storms … not anything we have to worry about right. Well not necessarily. Every day scientists are discovering that the tiny changes occurring in our environment could add up to a dramatic shift in our natural resources and resulting quality […]
Fishing is hard work, made even more challenging by spiralling fuel costs and declining catches of lobster, conch, snapper, and grouper. But Belizean fishermen have traditionally used only the shallow waters between the reef and mainland, along with the three atolls. Today, they received encouragement to look deeper to maintain their livelihoods. Jacqueline Woods, Reporting […]
For the past two days, scientists, researchers, and government officials have gathered in Belize City to talk water, that is, the country’s marine resources. This morning, News Five’s Karla Vernon got her feet wet in the discussion and discovered that there is need for collective analysis of the state of Belize’s marine environment. Karla Vernon, […]
This morning local environmentalists, government representatives and members of Belize’s tourism industry gathered in the old capital for the official presentation of the National Protected Areas Policy and System Plan. The document was initially launched in April 2004 and since then a task force has worked to achieve consensus on how to balance economic development […]
Members of Cabinet were given an update on recent developments in the petroleum industry during their last meeting for 2005. According to a briefing issued by Cabinet Secretary Robert Leslie, the Geology and Petroleum Office has issued petroleum exploration licenses to six companies since the discovery of oil in Spanish Lookout and is reviewing five […]
National Capacity Self Assessment: it’s one of the technical terminologies that doesn’t define what it is and more importantly, the impact it has on your life. But tonight, the officials behind N.C.S.A. are adamant that you should care about their work… and to help their cause they’ve even come up with a creative public relations […]
Two million dollars, that’s the amount the Protected Areas Conservation Trust officially handed over to local environmental groups today in one of their largest contribution ceremonies ever. According to a PACT press release, the University of Belize received the lion’s share of the money, a whopping nine hundred thousand dollars for a three-year project designed […]
An injured osprey rescued by a Belize City family is tonight being nursed back to good health by local veterinarians. The adult bird was picked up by officials from the Belize Audubon Society on Thursday afternoon and later transferred to the Animal Health Centre on Lancaster Street. We understand that the Osprey is suffering from […]
In November, the Protected Areas Co-Management Partners held its annual general meeting in Punta Gorda Town. Twenty-three agencies were represented at the two-day event, which reviewed activities in 2005 and included a presentation from the Forest Department on its five year action plan. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Natural Resources, Johnny Briceño addressed the […]
Today marked the official end of what weather experts are calling an “incredibly active” hurricane season, with just about every record shattered. According to the National Meteorological Service, this year there were twenty-six named storms, the most since 1933 when there were twenty-one. Authorities are attributing the increase to above normal sea surface temperatures, a […]
Today, the Protected Areas Conservation Trust officially launched the third edition of its Christmas calendar. Produced by Bel-Caribe, the calendar features the Flowers of Belize, and for plant lovers it’s a collector’s treasure. PACT’s Executive Director Valdemar Andrade and Bel-Caribe Managing Director Cynthia Henry explain why they want you to support the publication. Valdemar Andrade, […]
As anyone who has had to endure the painful process that is a trip to the land?s office in Belmopan will tell you, any improvement in the system is greatly appreciated. And this morning, during official ceremonies in the Corozal District, residents of Sarteneja reaped the benefits of those improvements as eight hundred land certificates […]
Today the Protected Areas Conservation Trust gave out a record eleven grants for projects designed to help conserve, protect, and sustain Belize’s natural resources. Almost three hundred and sixty-five thousand dollars has been earmarked for the organisations, which got their first instalments today. News Five was at the Radisson and spoke with some of the […]
Today, The Belize National Meteorological Service and the Mainstreaming Adaptation to Climate Change Project officially launched “Concepts and Issues in Climate Change: A Handbook for Caribbean Journalists.” The publication is intended to inform, educate, and warn journalists of the danger posed by the extreme weather events that the region is currently experiencing and the long […]
In a follow-up to a story aired on last night’s newscast regarding the state of the land fill on the Western Highway between San Ignacio and Benque Viejo, this afternoon we were informed that heavy works equipment will be in the area tomorrow morning to clear the access road and prepare new cells for garbage […]
With so much of our country set aside as protected areas, some would argue that Belize is one big botanic garden. But, as I learned today, the concept of a special place to assemble and study the nation’s plant life can be crucial to the future of all those big expanses of green. Martin Meadows, […]
If you live in Belize City you’ve seen or more likely heard the cart man and his familiar refrain of “seaweed”. According to experts now in the country, if fishermen play their cards right, all that seaweed in our waters will one day provide them with extra cash, in addition to a healthy drink. News […]
It was postponed due to the threat of bad weather two weeks ago, but organisers say nothing short of a hurricane will stop the Fourteenth Annual Plant and Flower Show this weekend. The gardening showcase has a new venue and theme this year. News Five spoke with two of the club’s most enthusiastic members about […]
Belizeans are well acquainted with April, that fine specimen of our national animal that has warmed the hearts of zoo goers for what seems like… decades. But the Belize Zoo has other stars waiting in the wings and today News Five’s Jacqueline Woods got up close and personal with one such emerging performer. Jacqueline Woods, […]
Whale Sharks: these difficult to find giants are increasingly becoming the target of both scientific and touristic interest. And guess what? Belize has one of world’s most dependable sites for viewing these biggest of fish. In 1999, long before whale shark watching became fashionable, News Five’s Stewart Krohn travelled with a group of divers to […]
The Ministry of Natural Resources has a new C.E.O. He is Ismael Fabro. Fabro has headed the Department of Environment since its inception in 1990. He replaces Pat Mendoza who has served as the ministry’s chief executive for the last five years.
This morning in Belmopan, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Johnny Briceño signed two long-term forest licenses. The forty-year agreements will allow Thomas Gomez and Sons Limited and Bartholomew Young to log ninety-seven thousand acres of the Deep River Forest Reserve and sixty-seven thousand acres in the Swasey/Bladen Forest Reserve in the Toledo District. According […]
