Backing the Defenders of Belize’s Natural Heritage

Every year, the Belize Nature Conservation Foundation shines a spotlight on the groups working hard to protect our country’s natural treasures. At its annual award ceremony, BNCF doesn’t just hand out recognition, the foundation invests directly in the organizations enforcing the rules and safeguarding Belize’s protected areas. It’s a yearly reminder that conservation takes teamwork, and BNCF is helping to keep that effort strong.

 

Edilberto Romero, Chair, Belize Nature Conservation Foundation

“This, indeed, is a historic event, it marks the eighteenth BNCF awards ceremony. We have been giving awards since 2007. And so, I also want to recognize the Protected Areas Conservation Trust, the board entered into a management agreement with PACT to manage the day-to-day management of the fund, while we make the decisions. After twenty-five years, we still have money and we’re still giving grants because of the way the debt-for-nature swap was designed. In other countries, Latin America, South America, that money has been finished because it was designed differently. It was designed that they would give out the money every year and after ten years that money is done. We are now twenty-five, twenty-six years, and we still have money to continue to give because we invested as an endowment fund.”

 

$50K Each for Belize’s Eco Defenders: Baboon Sanctuary & FCD

 

At a ceremony in Bermudian Landing, BNCF announced that two groups, the Community Baboon Sanctuary Women’s Conservation Group and Friends for Conservation and Development, will each receive fifty thousand dollars to step up their work. The Baboon Sanctuary team will use the funds to ramp up environmental education in the community through hands‑on training and outdoor learning. Meanwhile, FCD will channel its grant into tougher patrols and better monitoring in the threatened Chiquibul Cave System, equipping its specialized unit to crack down on illegal activity.

 

Jessie Young, Community Baboon Sanctuary

“Our goal here today is to enhance environmental literacy across the Community Baboon Sanctuary by building knowledge, capacity, and meaningful engagement. Wea sought to inspire behavioral change, especially among our youth population because, I think, it’s being lost or, for some reason, the interest may not be there. So, without us working along with the younger population, I think that we will lose the whole idea of conservation. And so, we sought to inspire the behavioral change that we want to see and cultivate a new generation of conservation leaders committed to protecting the natural resources of the Belize River Valley.”

 

Rafael Manzanero, Executive Director, FCD

“So, this project is primarily, once again, to have a ranger presence on the ground, be able to have equipment for our staff and be able to have the necessary training that goes with mapping and inventory of that system. I must thank, of course, our colleagues that have made this proposal possible. And two of them really come close to heart, NBIO is here who gave us a letter of recommendation because it is within a protected area, so surely, we need a letter from them. And, importantly so, is the Institute of Archaeology. You will know that all caves fall under the Institute of Archaeology. So, the Chiquibul caverns fall under their jurisdiction. We have been managing it for the country and the endorsement of the Institute of Archaeology with that agreement.”

 

Both groups say the funding will help them strengthen on-the-ground conservation efforts and inspire a new generation to protect Belize’s natural resources.

 

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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