Several days before Swallow Caye received its recognition another area of similar size was put under official protection. Janelle Chanona filed this report from Rancho Dolores. Janelle Chanona, Reporting On Monday residents of Rancho Dolores Village in the Belize District, saw the end of three and a half years of hard work, as the Government […]
The Coastal Zone Management Authority and Institute has a new chief executive officer. She is Imani Fairweather-Morrison. Fairweather-Morrison succeeds Dr. Vincent Gillett, whose term expired in February. She previously served as project manager with the ESTAP project in Toledo and will hold her new post for a two-year period, effective July first. The C.Z.M.A.I. is […]
While no one can deny the bounty of Belize’s natural environment, it is also clear that we must protect it. Today, seven environmental agencies received money from the United Nations Development Programme, and the Community Management of Protected Areas Conservation Project, COMPACT, to fund initiatives to sustainably develop Belize’s natural resources. Friends for Conservation and […]
Over the last ten years News 5 has profiled enough newly released Belizean music to fill a library. Tonight, we have the pleasure of introducing you to a recording that’s a little bit different. It was created by a group of people from different parts of the world who have taken the fleeting sounds of […]
The Protected Areas Conservation Trust, PACT, celebrated its seventh anniversary today. To commemorate the occasion, PACT awarded scholarships to four Belizean students to pursue degrees in natural resources management and conservation. The recipients are Carren Williams, who will seek her Bachelor’s Degree in biology at the University of Belize, Percival Cho, who will study towards […]
Belize is no stranger to tragedy, but the events which occurred Tuesday morning in the village of Paraiso near Corozal Town have devastated the community. Today News 5’s Jacqueline Woods was in the area looking for answers in the wake of a freak occurrence that has left three men dead. Jacqueline Woods, Reporting Today, the […]
Last October when Hurricane Iris passed over southern Belize, the storm not only destroyed buildings, but knocked down thousands of trees, ranging from newly planted citrus to ancient mahoganies. Trees Belize, a non-governmental organisation is about to embark on a reforestation project that promises to replant a significant portion of those trees that were lost. […]
With the hemisphere’s longest barrier reef, three atolls and countless cayes and patch reefs, Belize’s marine resources have never been more valuable to our future. That’s why successive governments over the last two decades have taken steps to increasingly regulate activities in the country’s waters. On Monday, another large portion of Belizean sea was given […]
Today is celebrated as Earth Day and to mark the occasion, the Belize Audubon Society is releasing their Environmental Agenda 2002 and Beyond, a follow-up to a similar document produced four years ago. The agenda is meant to assess the condition of Belize’s natural resources and makes specific suggestions for sustainable development. According to Audubon’s […]
Across the country, other environmental agencies were also celebrating Earth Day. In Belize City, participants in the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System Project invited community leaders, students and the general public to attend a chain of presentations on Belize’s marine environment. While attendance was good, according to Noel Jacobs, the project’s regional co-ordinator, appreciation for the […]
The transformation of Belize from a country dependent on the extractive exploitation of timber to one inclined toward the preservation of the environment did not happen overnight nor by accident. Education played a key role…and that effort continues nationwide. This morning News 5’s Jacqueline Woods travelled to the picturesque village of Gales Point where students […]
This morning, an environmental group from Placencia accepted a well-needed donation from the United Nations Development Programme and Global Environmental Fund. At a brief ceremony on the peninsula today, head of Friends of Nature–formerly Friends of Laughing Bird Caye–Brian Young, received just over thirty-one thousand Belize dollars towards various projects for the national park. According […]
Crime and criminals come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from gunmen in sagging shorts to con men in suits and ties. But while we have become accustomed to stolen cash, stolen jewelry, and even stolen cars, there are thieves in Belize’s rural areas who have set their sights much higher… specialising in the crime […]
Several decades ago, it was the crown jewel of Belize’s barely discovered inland tourist attractions, but as other areas opened up in the burgeoning hospitality industry, there was less dependence on the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve. That development proved to be a fortunate one, as last year an explosion in the area’s insect population […]
After Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling gave environmentalists leave for judicial review, there is some confusion as to what impact that decision will have at the Chalillo dam site. Tonight we can report that while there is no on site construction being done, Belize Electricity Limited is moving forward with the dam. According to Chief Executive […]
One of the favourite activities of News 5 reporters over the years has been to introduce our viewers to new and exciting places. Some, like the recently opened Museum of Belize, are readily accessible to all. Others, like the magnificent waterfall featured in our next story, require a certain level of physical fitness along with […]
You won’t always see her marching on the picket lines or starring on the talk show circuit, but for nearly twenty years Therese Bowman Rath has laboured diligently on the front lines of the environmental movement. On Saturday, her efforts were officially recognised when she was honoured with the James A. Waight Conservation Award. The […]
With the green light given by government and the engineering component of the project already underway, now does not seem to be the most appropriate time to voice opposition to the Chalillo dam. But that has not stopped a number of people from putting out a message of warning to anyone willing to listen. Earlier […]
In terms of strong winds and high water, the part of Belize hit hardest by Hurricane Iris was not the Placencia Peninsula, Monkey River, Independence or the villages of inland Toledo. It was the dozens of cayes stretching from the outer atoll at Glovers across the Barrier Reef all the way to the inner channel. […]
One of Belize’s pioneers in the eco-tourism business has been recognised internationally for its work in that field. The Lodge at Chaa Creek was presented with the 2001 ASTA Environmental Award from the American Society of Travel Agents at their World Travel Congress in New York earlier this month. The award recognises the resort’s environmental […]
In Belize we have no shortage of protected areas, both on land and sea. But while parks and reserves have proliferated like termites, their financing has not necessarily kept pace. Janelle Chanona reports from Caye Caulker. Janelle Chanona, Reporting Today, people involved with Belize’s marine protected areas met in Caye Caulker to discuss the conservation […]
On yesterday’s newscast B.E.L.’s CEO Lynn Young offered his company’s opinion on the decision to green light B.E.L.’s Chalillo hydroelectric project. Today News 5’s Janelle Chanona travelled west where she spoke to NEAC chairman Ismael Fabro in Belmopan and BACONGO’s Sharon Matola at the Belize Zoo. Ismael Fabro, Chief Environmental Officer “We did not get […]
It’s one of those things we normally take for granted. After all, do any of us stop to think about the condition of the ozone layer on a regular basis? Today, the Department of the Environment made sure the ozone layer had centre stage. D.O.E. hosted a workshop designed to make sure Belizeans know what […]
The shouting in Belmopan may have died down, but the debate over the Chalillo hydro project still goes on…albeit under less polarised circumstances. The fate of Chalillo now rests in the hands of the National Environmental Appraisal Committee. This eleven member body is charged with evaluating the environmental impact assessment submitted by B.E.L. for the […]
It takes some people a lifetime to realise it, but in many cases, being successful in business has little to do with working hard or making a quality product. As News 5’s Jacqueline Woods found out this morning at the conclusion of a unique development project, marketing is what makes the business world go around. […]
