Who Owns the Riverbank? Older Land Titles Raise Questions

A three-acre clearing along the Belize River has raised questions over the rules governing development along Belize’s waterways.

A joint inspection by the Department of the Environment, Forest Department and Lands Department found that the clearing reached the water’s edge, with relatively few mangroves affected.

Chief Environmental Officer Anthony Mai said the Forest Department and Lands Department have different legal responsibilities in regulating the area. 

“The Forest Department has the legal mandate to regulate mangrove clearance or alteration, and then the Lands Department has the legal mandate for the sixty-six-foot reserve,” Mai said.

Mai said an Environmental Compliance Plan can also require developers to maintain a vegetated buffer along waterways. “The environmental compliance plan will state that, again, a sixty-six-foot vegetated buffer must be maintained along water body for ecological functions,” he said

The Department of the Environment says the parcel dates back to the 1960s, before the 66-foot reserve requirement was established. Mai said some older land titles in Belize extend all the way to the water’s edge.

“There are a few people’s land title in Belize that go all the way to the water edge.”

He also explained that the 66-foot reserve is Crown land and was established under the Lands Act. The reserve was intended to provide public access to waterways and has since also been recognised for its ecological function.

Extensive Riverbank Clearing Raises Erosion Fears, DOE Investigates