The Belize Nature Conservation Foundation has awarded two more grants in its 2020 projects cycle. Two NGOs that co-manage sites in the Belize National Protected Areas System were awarded funds to strengthen the management of their sites. A brief virtual ceremony was held on Thursday to acknowledge the handing over to the awardees. News Five […]
Earlier this week, Minister of Public Utilities Rodwell Ferguson and Minister of Rural Transformation Oscar Requeña broke ground for the installation of a solar plant in Indian Creek Village, Toledo District. The groundbreaking ceremony followed a meeting convened with stakeholders to chart the way forward for the implementation of the emPOWERing Rural Electrification Project. According […]
How much do you know about the king vulture – or what we’d call the King John Crow? These birds play important roles that we often overlook and they have some special features that help them to carry out these functions. Like many other animals, their adaptations are unique and help them to survive and […]
Ocean Hero Neville Smith is being recognized once again tonight for being proactive in southern Belize. The owner of Southern Eco Adventure Dive and Fishing Tours was out on a cleanup activity when he came across a gillnet smack in the middle of our territorial waters near Moho Caye. A former gillnet user himself, who […]
The discovery was documented and shared with OCEANA Belize who posted the images online. The non-discriminatory fishing gear was made illegal back on November sixth when G.O.B. instituted a ban; it was a major step to strengthening marine conservation by putting an end to gillnet fishing in Belizean waters. OCEANA Belize is one of the […]
Several items were recovered, including plastic bottles filled with black sand used to anchor the gillnet, suggesting that the illegal fishing gear belongs to Guatemalan fishers. Both Smith and Carnegie say that it is an issue that has been plaguing these southern waters for years, despite interventions. Carnegie advises persons who come across this illegal […]
Minister of the Blue Economy, Andre Perez, has weighed in on the proposed expansion at the Port of Belize. In a statement issued this evening, the newly assigned minister said “we have been listening to the concerns of those that have been studying and opposing this project ever since it was proposed under the previous […]
The Waterloo Port Expansion Project is receiving backlash from all corners of the tourism and environmental communities. In fact, the Coalition to Save our Natural Heritage has come out against the multi-million dollar project proposal. The Belize Tourism Industry Association is also against the project, so is Oceana Belize which is one of nine NGOs […]
A public consultation on the proposed development of a fourth cruise terminal in Belize has been met with serious concerns and objection from the tourism and environmental sectors. On Thursday evening, the Department of the Environment, along with Chamberlain Consultancy and Nextera, on behalf of Waterloo, held a virtual meeting with experts regarding the proposed […]
Whereas a cruise terminal is constructed adjacent to a port, Dr. Chamberlain-Miranda points to other countries and tourism destinations where such facilities coexist harmoniously. The project, once given the green light is set to be completed by 2023. According to Chamberlain-Miranda, Belize will be required to have docking facilities on land in order to do […]
The Belize Coalition to Save Our Natural Heritage, a consortium of environmental N.G.O.s, has written to Prime Minister John Briceño highlighting a number of environmental concerns with the proposed development. Chief among those issues is the lack of an adequate reason to justify the dumping of dredge material in the area just beyond the barrier […]
The public consultation held on Thursday night proceeded as scheduled, despite a Chief Executive Officer for Sustainable Development not having been appointed. According to the Coalition, the C.E.O. is also the chair of the National Environmental Appraisal Committee, NEAC, which is an integral part of the approval process. While Bood applauds the new government for […]
The Belize Tourism Industry Association, from an industry perspective, has also raised concerns about the proposed development, and the possible environmental impact that it will have in the area of Port Loyola in Belize City and at sea, just outside of the barrier reef. The emphasis, according to Executive Director John Burgos, should be on […]
With three proposed cruise terminals to be constructed in the same geographic location within the vicinity of Belize City, namely: Port Coral, Port of Magical Belize and Port Loyola Cruise Port, B.T.I.A. is saying that Belize will not be able to handle the saturation of visitors disembarking on its shores. That says, Burgos, will not […]
And so Ministers Marin and Mira are the two Government Ministers tasked with tackling the long standing and thorny border issues – especially as it relates to illegal entry. At the heart of this growing problem are Guatemalans who enter the country illegally through our very porous borders. Today, we asked Tapia what will be […]
And on the topic of border issues – the planned incursions and attacks in the Chiquibul are still a problem today. As we’ve shown you before, there are Guatemalans who are conducting cattle ranching in Belizean territory, as well as poaching wildlife and extracting other materials. The Friends for Conservation and Development who are co-managers […]
And on the topic of defence and border security, we also asked C.E.O. Dario Tapia about the Sarstoon River and what role they will play in navigating the maritime issues encountered there with the Guatemalan Armed Forces, as well as the illegal Guatemalan fishers: Dario Tapia, C.E.O. , Ministry of Defence & Border Security […]
The Wildlife Conservation Society WCS Belize has finalized a ten-page report on the illegal wildlife trade in Belize. WCS is reporting that Belize has lost millions of dollars annually due to the illegal trade of wildlife. The report reveals that over the period 2012 to 2018 Belize lost more than sixty-one million dollars on the […]
The Wildlife Conservation Society Belize has made several policy recommendations. W.C.S is recommending an amendment of all wildlife focused legislation to include the term ‘Illegal Wildlife Trade.” The environmental group is also seeking the enactment of the national Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to strengthen national implementation of the Convention. Kamille […]
A public consultation being held by the Department of Environment is underway virtually on the Government of Belize’s Press Office Facebook page. The meeting is to get feedback from stakeholders in the tourism sector on the proposed development of a cruise tourism port in Belize City. Under the previous government administration, the proposal of constructing […]
Greenwood’s primary concern also centers around the preservation of Belize’s barrier reef as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Tom Greenwood, Executive, FECTAB “The main concern is the lack of an overall cruise port strategy for Belize. The fact that there are half-truths and other environmental concerns within the scope of this entire presentation this […]
Today, we were out at the Ridge Lagoon Estate, a community just off the Boom/Hattieville Road that has been under water for days. More than half a dozen families have been affected; some voluntarily evacuated as floodwaters are up to three feet inside their homes, while others have installed temporary barriers to prevent the water […]
Tonight we head to the south side of Belize City where far too many families have been living in abject poverty. The COVID pandemic has worsened their lives and now flooding has made a bad situation grimmer. Sixty-two year old Marlene King is a resident of Jones Street, she hardly knows where her next meal […]
The waters are beginning to recede up north, but residents are bracing for another round of flooding later this week. Today, across the district, assessments are taking place of the damages caused by the severe weather conditions. NEMO is asking persons in low-lying areas to relocate to weather the next few days of flooding. News […]
For the past couple weeks we have been reporting on the flooding across the country. As we’ve shown you, thousands have been affected. They have suffered losses in personal property, as well as investments in agriculture and livestock. The country’s infrastructure has also taken a beating as well from the floods. As of Sunday, there […]
