Galvez Warns That Clearing Riverbanks Threatens Freshwater Ecosystem

Just because the land clearing may predate today’s reserve rules, does that make it environmentally acceptable? Marine Conservationist Jamal Galvez says no. A joint government inspection found that three acres along the Belize River were cleared right up to the water’s edge. Galvez warns that the issue goes far beyond the property line, threatening the river’s freshwater ecosystem and a significant manatee population living nearby.

 

Jamal Galvez, Director, Clearwater Marine Aquarium

“You don’t need to be a conservationist to determine that is a threat. If you have listened to the news in the past month you would have seen the devastation that have been in the Belize River, from the clearings, the runoffs and the agriculture activities. Any everyday Belizean could tell you and I would have believed that would have been warning enough to deter us from activities like this one. And I believe that the authorities have to put their foot down. We cannot keep kicking the pan down the road. We have to deal with these developments strictly It is not even about manatees. Belize River is our largest water source. It is where we get our water from. So, stop thinking about conservation, think about normal people.t hat is literally the heart of that whole area. If you devastate that water body, what water sources will you get our water from. So, it is bigger than conservation. It is not about manatees. It is about people at this point. They literally clear up to the water edge. If you look just across, you will see there is a manatee sign across it. That little cove has a lot of manatees. We have studied it for many years. You will see our billboards right at that specific location as well. Those things are strategically placed there for a reason, because they identify the area. We don’t even know what development is going to come there. So, it is a huge concern and one that I think we should not sleep on. It is one we should address, and I honestly would have thought that after the devastation that occurred in the last month or so it would have taken a long time to see something like this happen. Honestly, I am very disappointed by it.”

 

Galvez explained that manatees live along these freshwater banks, so destroying it leads to the destruction of its habit.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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