Despite the fact that there has been an ongoing campaign by the Coastal Zone Management Authority and Institute, dead manatees are still washing up on our shores: seventeen in 1999 alone. Of that number it is believed three may have died after the manatees were hit by a boat propeller or crushed by the hull […]
Belize Electricity Limited today released the results of its feasibility study on the Chalillo hydroelectric project… and to the surprise of absolutely no one the report says the project is economically sound. While even the executive summary gets a bit too technical for the layman, the study, conducted by the Canadian firm AGRA C.I. Power, […]
In related news, the environmental umbrella group BACONGO has issued a release condemning a proposed national sanitary landfill which would be located at mile twenty-seven and a half on the Western Highway. Using arguments that seem to have already been satisfactorily addressed by the exhaustive study which identified the site as the most appropriate, the […]
Visitors to Belize may be more aware of this organization than Belizeans, if only because they pay its seven dollar and fifty cents fee each time they leave from the International Airport. The organization is PACT — the Protected Areas Conservation Trust — and Wednesday night it launched a foundation which will expand the scope […]
The movement to prevent the implementation of the Chalillo hydro project today brought out one of its biggest guns. Kathryn Fuller, President of the World Wildlife Fund, spoke this afternoon at the invitation of BACONGO, the Belize Alliance for Conservation NGOs. Fuller explained that while her organization is not opposed to the general concept of […]
Maybe you’ve seen them, weed whacker in hand diligently cutting back unsightly grass. Or maybe they are pushing a wheelbarrow or picking up trash. It’s all part of a new move by the Belize City Council to clean up the city by hiring a private contractor to tackle the entire northside. The sanitation workers can […]
Visitors to San Pedro, Ambergris Caye may now be told to “follow the brick road” to their hotel or to find a good restaurant. Islanders wanted to improve one of their most important streets, but not loose their village charm. They came up with a novel solution, at least for Belizean cayes, cobblestones. The project, […]
In economic news today’s Belize Times reports that the long awaited full feasibility study for the Chalillo Hydroelectric Project has now been completed. The study, which was promised by government officials as early as August, was done by two Canadian consulting firms, and includes both an economic and environmental analysis. According to the Times the […]
Today the Belize City Council and the Pan American Health Organization hosted a forum on the “Healthy City”. Representatives of government departments, NGOs and other agencies whose help would be needed were invited to present their views on the initiative which the City Council says it plans to adopt next year. The consultant from the […]
Belize Electricity Limited has released the findings of a General Electric International Power systems study to determine the most favorable electricity generation option to meet Belize’s growing energy needs. The study recommends that BEL pursue the hydro expansion at Chalillo with the construction of the dam and powerhouse upstream of the Mollejon. With Belize’s energy […]
Belize’s garbage problem has reached a critical point and Belizeans have to start disposing of their trash properly. That’s the assessment of the Department of the Environment. This week they held a public consultation to review the draft of the Solid Waste Management Plan and the proposal for a sanitary landfill. News Five spoke with […]
We’ve tried to be patient, we’ve tried to look at the bright side, but the rain has lasted for six days now. If you count the tropical depression at the end of October, it feels like even longer. Today Janelle Chanona, umbrella in hand, found out a lot of people just want the sun to […]
As part of its monthly lecture series, tonight the Belize Audubon Society is hosting, “No teef the Reef,” a lecture and slide presentation on the health of Belize’s reefs by Marine Biologist Melanie McField. McField has been studying Belize’s reefs since 1990. When she compares her research to studies done in the seventies, things do […]
With the start of November, you’ve probably noticed that your appointment calendar is starting to run out of pages. But you won’t have to buy an imported replacement because local diaries featuring some of Belize’s most beautiful scenes become available at the end of the month. The Protected Areas Management Trust is producing Agenda 2000. […]
When all options in Mexico failed, the Marine Mammal Stranding Network found help for Woody the orphaned manatee calf right here at home. The Belize Zoo has offered to help with his care and he will be taken care of there by zoo personnel and stranding network members until he is two years old, old […]
Since Woody, the baby manatee was recovered from the waters off Buttonwood Bay, the calf remains under a twenty-four hour watch at the Coastal Zone Management and Institute. Although Woody was expected to be transferred to Xcaret, Mexico for continued care, today we learn that the mammal will, if all goes well, be sent to […]
Today in Belmopan the Protected Areas Conservation Trust presented grants totaling over one hundred thousand six hundred dollars to four more organizations to assist them in their fight to conserve the environment. The Belize Tourism Industry Association, B.T.I.A., received thirty-four thousand dollars, for landscaping, maintenance, and the construction of an observatory tower and promotional materials […]
In March of 1998 a baby manatee, dubbed “Hercules” was rescued near the Belize Port Authority, nursed by volunteers and then transported to Xcaret, Mexico where he is reported to be doing well. This past weekend another baby manatee got some human assistance. The volunteers know that this little one will also have to go […]
Everyone’s heard of the Belize Zoo, the Baboon Sanctuary in Bermudian Landing, or the Jaguar Reserve in the Cockscomb, but you probably never heard of the Green Hills Butterfly Ranch. After this next story, however, you may want to take a trip to this corner of the Cayo District that’s doing big things with little […]
Three manatees, two adults and a calf were butchered in the Deep River area of the Toledo District this past weekend. Local fishermen John and Wallace Young were on a voluntary patrol for the Toledo Institute for Development and the Environment, TIDE, when they found the carcasses in some mangroves. Will Mejia of TIDE says […]
Belize’s manatees haven’t had a good day in a while with an increase in deaths from boat blades. But this week is all theirs. Manatee Week opened this morning at the Holy Redeemer Parish Hall, and aims to educate everyone about this precious resource through competitions and informational displays. Nicole Auil of the Coastal Zone […]
Belize’s Barrier Reef has long been enjoyed by divers and is one of our major tourist attractions. The other countries of the region understand the moneymaking potential of the reef and are eager to cash in on its reputation. To help keep the reef healthy for years to come, a meeting is underway in Belize […]
The Scout Association of Belize, the Department of the Environment and other agencies will be holding a countrywide waterways cleanup this weekend. Scouts throughout Belize will pick up trash and debris from the coastlines, rivers and creeks. Although the event is an annual one and is planned well in advance, the Department of the Environment […]
The moon and the wind are making life a little inconvenient for residents of the Southern Foreshore this week. Seawater has been spilling over the sea wall since Monday flooding streets and yards. According to the Met Office, the high water will continue for about a week. Carlos Fuller of the Climate Change Project says […]
It’s a sight that would turn any stomach, trash all over, reeking mud, used baby diapers strewn about. But it’s not a landfill or a trash heap, it’s the Haulover Creek. And the situation is getting out of hand with people deliberately throwing buckets and bag fulls into the river every day. Janelle Chanona went […]
