To find the best birds, birdwatchers have to get out in the field early. And that’s just what News Five’s Janelle Chanona and George Tillett did to chronicle the early morning ceremonies at a well known national attraction. Since it was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1984, the area around Crooked Tree village has been […]
The natural wonder that we know as the Belize Barrier Reef also forms part of related reef structure in the larger Gulf of Honduras. In the spirit of international cooperation, Belize has joined forces with three of our regional neighbors in an effort to keep that marine environment healthy. On Wednesday Minister of Agriculture and […]
If it seems like Belize keeps getting hotter and drier with every passing year, don’t worry, you’re not going crazy. It is. And this year appears to be no exception. Today we sent out Janelle Chanona to look at some of the science behind the sweat. Janelle Chanona, Reporting Is it only me or does […]
The marine environment of Belize has been described as one of the planet’s greatest natural assets. But how well is that asset holding up? Tonight at the Belize City Marine Terminal, we’ll get a report from the experts. This morning I got a preview. Jacqueline Woods, Reporting In the past two years, the Belize Barrier […]
While the Glovers Reef Atoll remains an elusive vacation spot to both Belizeans and tourists; the reefs of the marine reserve have been no stranger to illegal fishing activities. In an attempt to resolve the issues affecting the reserve, late last year, representatives of the Fisheries administration and the Ministry of Fisheries got together with […]
We’ve bought them for 39 years, soft drinks in glass bottles. But now Belizeans, like their neighbors in Mexico can opt for a plastic container. They cost a little more, but you don’t have to worry about what to do with the pint, or do you? Concern that the disposable bottles for Coke, Sprite and […]
It would be very easy to walk into a rural community and say, “You can no longer shoot that animal and don’t even think about cutting down that tree. We’ve got to save the environment!” But then what? How would these people survive? The European Union has given the Belize Audubon Society a 1.28 million-dollar […]
Concern that there may be too many timber licenses and not enough trees for everyone to cut, led 75 members of the industry and personnel from the Forest Department to meet in Belmopan this week. While it is true that 79% of Belize is under some form of forest cover, 40% of this falls under […]
Every year students “bust their brains” trying to come up with an impressive presentation that’s sure to blow away the judges of that annual environmental science fair at the Belize Zoo. Competition was friendly but fierce between schools from all over the country last week. This year themes ranged from the traditional “save the rainforest” […]
In 1999 Mayan activist Julian Cho posthumously won the James A. Waight Conservation Award, this year the honor goes not to an individual but a grassroots community effort, the Sibun Watershed Association, SWA. The Belize Audubon Society sponsors the award named for one of their founding members. David Craig made the presentation Tuesday night on […]
Even though it is the largest eagle in the world, the Harpy Eagle has remained elusive with the last unconfirmed sighting in Belize reported in 1994. So you can imagine how excited the Belizean Audubon Society got when a group of North Americans saw it in the Chiquibul forest this month and videotaped the encounter. […]
Quarantine checkpoints for the Pink Hibiscus Mealy Bug have been removed, but the Ministry of Agriculture says the bug still poses a threat to agricultural areas. The Ministry is asking for continued public cooperation to limit the movement of plants from Belize City, Belmopan and Hopkins. Although the P.H.M.B. task force has determined that wasps […]
Representatives of the NGO community, government officials and environmental agencies met in Belize City to discuss the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). You might be thinking…A desert? In Belize? Impossible! But according to the experts, the possibility isn’t so far from reality. Oswaldo Sabido, Chief Forest Officer, Forest Department “Our colleagues in the […]
It may be considered the forgotten district but this week a portion of Toledo was finally recognized as worthy of protection. The Port Honduras area four to five miles off Punta Gorda Town is rich in marine and plant life. It provides a livelihood for hundreds of local fishermen. But illegal fishing by Honduran and […]
For one community organization’s, persistence in achieving its goal has paid off. Today, members of the Toledo Institute for Development and the Environment (TIDE), watched as the Port Honduras area was officially declared a national reserve. TIDE has consistently maintained that the area is being used as a manatee slaughtering ground by Guatemalan poachers. Additional […]
Citizens out west are also promoting the conservation of their natural resources. This weekend the Mayors of Melchor De Mencos in Guatemala, San Ignacio and Benque Viejo del Carmen in Western Belize signed an agreement to protect the Mopan Watershed. The three towns agree that the Mopan River is their most important natural resource and […]
With increasing reports of manatees being slaughtered in the Toledo District and requests from area conservation groups and fishermen, the Minister of Agriculture Dan Silva this week signed a statutory instrument designating the Port Honduras area a national reserve. The Port Honduras Marine Reserve covers an area running from Monkey River Village in the North […]
The Prime Minister hiked a nature trail and explored caves on Thursday as part of his tour of the Las Cuevas Forest Research Station. The Government Press Office also made the trek and has the following report. Deep in the Chiquibul Forest, a three-hour drive, in a four-wheel drive vehicle is the Las Cuevas Research […]
The third annual Symposium on the State of Belize’s Environment concluded today at the Belize Biltmore Plaza and once again there was a large turnout. By all accounts, the forum, which looked at just about every aspect of Belize’s marine and land resources and how people are using, or misusing them, was a resounding success. […]
The Belize Biltmore Plaza was packed today as over four hundred fifty people attended the first day of the National Symposium on the State of the Environment. The two-day event includes presentations on a wide range of issues from waste management to aquaculture to population growth. Various NGOs also mounted displays on their organizations. While […]
Every once in a while Belizeans are saddened to learn that a manatee has been accidentally killed. But the incidents of intentional slaughter also seem to be on the rise. The problem is compounded by the fact that foreigners may be responsible. On Friday I was in Toledo for yet another gruesome discovery. In the […]
If political reform is not your area of interest, tonight the Belize Audubon Society invites you to a presentation on an issue of environmental concern: Tilapia. According to presenter Peter Esselman this fish, which originated in Africa, poses a major threat to Belize’s fresh waterways. Esselman says the fish is popular with commercial growers because […]
National Resource Management, Development and the Environment, Population Growth and Local Perspectives on Environmental Issues are among the topics at the third annual Symposium on the State of the Belize Environment later this week. The two-day event on Thursday and Friday will include presentations by experts from government departments and non-governmental organizations as well as […]
Two weeks ago the environmental umbrella group BACONGO issued a press release condemning government’s plans to establish a sanitary landfill at mile twenty-seven on the Western Highway. The release warned of environmental dangers for surrounding communities and focussed heavily on dire consequences predicted for the Belize Zoo — which happens to be a member of […]
The process of economically harvesting fish from the sea long ago made the transition from art to science. But this does not mean that we cannot gain vital knowledge by looking at the culture and traditions of our fishermen. This morning News Five’s Janelle Chanona met some people who plan to move science forward by […]
