Residents of Toledo have been on the receiving end of several droughts and have struggled with adequate access to water for years. The National Hydrological Service is aiming to address these issues with the implementation of technology that will be able to locate groundwater reserves. Tennielle Hendy, Principal Hydrologist at the N.H.S. gave us more details on the situation.
Tennielle Hendy, Principal Hydrologist, National Hydrological Service
“The Toledo district experiences the highest rainfall, so the common assumption is that if you are getting a lot of water, you shouldn’t have water issues. Contrary, that is not the case. Um, just as though we have hills and valleys above the surface, we have hills and valleys below the surface. But if we don’t know where those hills and valleys are, we drill for wells. We either don’t find water at all, or we maybe find only twenty gallons per minute, which is not sufficient for one household, let alone two hundred people in a, in a village or a community. So that’s the crux of the matter in terms of the water scarcity we want to explore. It’s costly to explore but if we don’t find water, what do we do? We have to just try to find funds to do more, but we don’t want to be in a state of reactivity. We want to be proactive and so through the IDB, we are learning to use geo resistivity. And this type of technology allows us to put electrodes into the ground, and it allows us to see deep into the aquifer. Now, I must say, it cannot quantify, because we often see these new technologies and fill out, Oh, it’s going to tell us how much water is there. No, it’s just going to tell us whether there is presence of water there. So you need to physically do the investigations, which are very capital intensive. And so that’s one of the challenges that we face in exploring groundwater resources in the country.”
The Protected Areas Conservation Trust has been quietly working behind the scenes to provide several N.G.O.’s and conservation organizations in Belize with the necessary funds to keep the country’s natural resources safe and thriving. The work that PACT does is an essential part of preservation work in Belize, as there are currently one hundred protected areas that form a vast national protected areas system. In order to learn more about that process, we visited their office today and spoke with Conservation Investment Manager, Ismael Teul. Here’s News Five’s Britney Gordon with tonight’s episode of Belize on Reel.
Britney Gordon, reporting
The Protected Areas Conservation Trust (PACT) was established in 1996 and at the time, Belize was considered a pioneer with the passing of the PACT Act. Today, the protected areas landscape continues to take shape and expand. Currently, there are one hundred and three protected areas that form a vast national protected areas system with categories that include forest reserves, natural monuments, and archaeological reserves. After over twenty-five years, PACT has evolved from a grant-funding mechanism and works hand in hand with NGO’s and other environmental organizations to preserve these natural resources in Belize. PACT’s conservation investment manager, Ismael Teul broke down that process for us.
“What we do is we’re a Financing institution for what we would term or call the National Protected Areas System, right? What that is simply all the protected areas functioning as one entire system. And our primary role is to see how we get funding so that they work of protecting the environment, providing clean air, clean water, and of course, protecting our natural resources could continue.”
Teul explained that PACT uses a system in order to enact its funding mechanisms. In a given period, PACT may fund twenty to thirty areas but each area is assessed on how it benefits its bordering protected areas. By targeting areas with heavy impact on the ones surrounding it, the number of protected areas is expanded. Teul further explained that a national assessment is carried out in order to choose what areas will be targeted. The Bladen Nature Reserve, Chiquibul National Park, Monkey Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, and Corozal Bay Wildlife Sanctuary are just a few of the areas Pact has partnered with in the past.
Ismael Teul
“And so it’s, what PACT does is it doesn’t grant, in the traditional sense of the word, funds, but it invests. So it provides financing to a protected area that in a three year period, four year period we’re expecting returns on that investment. Now, the key here is that we’re not expecting financial returns as a bank would work, but we’re expecting more conservation returns. So it’s okay, the water quality, if it was a polluted area. Did that pollution go down? If it was to protect a endangered species, what’s the population count at the end of the four year period? It’s those conservation returns that we look at as PACT”
Teul further explained that PACT’s mission goes beyond just the environmental impacts, as it carries over into all sectors of Belize and PACT’s mission ultimately seeks to ensure the safety and longevity of the country.
Ismael Teul
“Our natural environment really is the heart of our economy.The tourism industry, for example, is one of our largest industry, but the protected areas is actually the natural attractions that we bring to the ecotourist market. Also, we have agriculture which is our second largest industry in the country. And so, providing that, safe water or that water for the agricultural lands, providing the trees for carbon and processing. And so we have a lot of natural assets still within our country that if we don’t protect them and use them sufficiently, then we affect the wellbeing of. of the Belizean people, right? Further to that, you also have indigenous communities. You have local communities that depend on the protected areas.”
The University of Belize and The Nature Conservancy collaborated on a two-day workshop in which students learned about regenerative farming practices in order to boost efficiency and sustainability. News Five’s Britney Gordon visited the University Of Belize’s Central Farm Campus today to learn more about it. Here’s the story.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
Students at the University of Belize’s Central Farm Campus are on their way to pioneering the next era of sustainable agriculture. The university collaborated with The Nature Conservancy which is hosting a two-day workshop for students to learn how to use the resources on campus and new techniques to reduce the agriculture sectors impact on the environment. Ub’S Livestock Lecturer, Daniel Juan spoke with us about this endeavor.
Daniel Juan
Daniel Juan, Livestock Lecturer, U.B.
“So UB partnered with the Nature Conservancy through Dr. Chi to design and implement a silvopastoral system. And a silvopastoral system essentially is trying to find mechanisms and protocols to see how we can incorporate as many trees and shrubs and plants into existing pastures that have livestock already, so that we can improve, primarily, profitability for the farmers, but also to enhance our ability to safeguard the environment.”
Juan stated that this phase of the project is almost complete.
Daniel Juan
“So this project, we are implementing it here at the university, we are creating a model farm. We are almost at the end of the first year of the implementation phase and part of what we do is, we involve our students and we also involve partners like other livestock farmers and we also invite other stakeholders for workshops such as this where we disseminate the, our findings to date and we make recommendations as to how to proceed.”
We also spoke with Titus Lightburn, a Climate Smart Agriculture Major at the university, to hear what he’s taken away from the workshop thus far.
Titus Lightburn
Titus Lightburn, Climate Smart Agriculture Major, U.B.
“You learn about you being sustainable and being more efficient as in, the rule of thumb is for one cow is two acres of land. So if you have ten cows you need twenty acres, but now at these workshops you’re learning I don’t need as If I want to raise thirty cows, I don’t need sixty acres or whatever. I can do it on twenty. I could do it on thirty acres, one acre per cow, but simply it’s all about how you rotate them in the pasture, what kind of supplemental feeding you’re giving them and stuff like that. So you learn to be way more efficient and way you learn to make more money. So by being efficient, you learn to make more money.”
Luciano Chi, a Regenerative Agriculture Specialist, explained that this workshop and the implementation of its lessons are just part of TNC’s strategy to reduce the agriculture sector’s environmental impact. There are also plans to target the wheat and sugar industry in upcoming projects.
“So one of the components of the program with the University of Belize is a model farm where we can prove all the different practices that are important inside a silvopastoral system. The component also has a training component to it that allows for practicing this practices on the training our farmers in all of these practices that we are evaluating at the field level. So again, the model firm serves as a school for our farmers, but at the same time we are providing them with the technical knowledge to training to the training component that will improve their knowledge and their skills in management of livestock.”
World Wetland Day 2024 will be celebrated on Friday February second, under the theme, “Wetlands and Human Wellbeing”. The day marks the anniversary of the adoption of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in 1971. Belize is a signatory of the international treaty that recognizes wetlands of international importance. So, tonight’s Belize On Reel takes us to the Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary, one of the two protected wetland in the country. We sought to find out how this wetland is contributing to the wellbeing of Crooked Tree villagers through various conservation efforts. News Five’s Paul Lopez reports.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
The Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary is recognized as a Wetland of International Importance or a Ramsar Site. This protected area consists of over fourteen thousand acres of waterways, logwood swamps and lagoon. This wetland provides a habitat for over three hundred species of resident and migratory birds. It is also home to other wildlife, such as fish, snakes, turtles and frogs. This protected area borders one of the oldest Creole communities in the country, Crooked Tree Village. And, to ensure the viability of this important ecosystem, residents must learn how to make use of its resources sustainably.
Verna Samuels
Verna Samuels, Co-Owner, Bird Eye View Lodge
“Every Sunday I could recall as a child my dad use to go out. We never use to go to the store to buy chicken. My dad use to go and kill a bird and that is what we would eat on Sundays.”
Verna Samuels is the co-Owner of Bird’s Eye View Lodge, an accommodation in the village that provides overnight stays, tours of the lagoon, and birdwatching expeditions for tourists. Born and raised in Crooked Tree, she recalls her father hunting the Limpkin birds, also known as the crying birds. That culture of hunting birds for food has become practically nonexistent in the community. Amanda Acosta, the Executive Director at Belize Audubon Society, and her team, have led the charge in providing public awareness to residents about the importance of this wetland and its wildlife.
Amanda Acosta
Amanda Acosta, Executive Director, Belize Audubon Society
“In the eighties when it was designated, it was designated as a wildlife sanctuary. By law wildlife sanctuary does not allow for extraction. Unfortunately that does not recognize the traditional uses within the community. That community has always fished. So it was areas of contention, contention build up, it came to a head and we were forced to go to the drawing board with the community and government.”
Derrick Hendy is the Site Manager at the Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary for the Belize Audubon Society. Hendy understands the traditional significance of this wetland to villagers. He works with residents and schools in surrounding communities to provide education on this habitat.
Derrick Hendy
Derrick Hendy, Site Manager, Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary
“People use it for food. Everytime when it filters out people will catch the fish and sell it. But as I said, there are rules and regulations, people really don’t want to follow the rules and regulations. And, if we continue that way, we will eventually contaminate all of our waterways and it will be much more expenses for us to maintain and even to get drinking water.”
The Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary acts as a catchment area for the Belize River that flows from west of the country to the east and into the Caribbean Sea. The water that flows into this wetland goes through a natural filtration process, removing excess contaminants, before flowing back out into the river. Water levels vary throughout the year, as a result. But, apart from its value to wildlife and naturally purified water, the sanctuary attracts tourism capital for residents.
Amanda Acosta
“Bird tourism is actually one of the main driving tourism reasons for that community. It is what people go there for. If there is no fish, there won’t be any birds, because that is the food for the birds, because that is one of the reasons why birds go there as well. So they are all tightly interwoven as one needs the other.”
Verna Samuels
“The Wetland is what causes the birds, not only the birds, all of the wildlife to be here. Then, in turn that brings the tourists who are bird lovers, nature lovers, so it is like a cycle that if the wetland is here, the birds are here, the wildlife is here, and that attract the business that we want to attract, the tourist.”
At the government level, policies have been developed to govern protected areas that are also traditionally used by surrounding communities, like the Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary. Whereas most protected areas fall under what is termed as a “classification one” or a “no-take zone”, Orlando Habet, the Minister of Sustainable Development, explained that given the circumstances, the Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary falls under what is known as “classification two”. This permits certain traditional activities.
Orlando Habet
Orlando Habet, Minister of Sustainable Development
“We have to understand and realize that their communities that are built around these protected areas and people will have to have their livelihoods, and they will have to fish, hunt and harvest some medicinal plants and do a bit of farming. But, we work alongside them so that all of this can be done sustainably so that it is there for many generations to come. The good thing with the community is that they have realized this also, so they want to do the protection and they want to have their children and grandchildren and future generation to be able to enjoy what is there now and hopefully they can protect it and conserve it in a way that they can use some now and use for the generations to come in their livelihood.”
Residents of Caribbean Shores have observed that although several of their streets have remained in disrepair for a prolonged period of time, construction has finally begun to remedy the situation. As the time for election draws nearer, questions of whether this can be classified as electioneering arise. Kareem Musa, area representative for the constituency denies the accusation. Here’s what he had to say.
Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
“We have been fixing roads, but it’s never on the radar of the media. For example, we fixed a road in Buttonwood Bay last year, early last year, we fixed, and that was Manatee Drive we fixed, I think it is St. Luke Street again, in Caribbean Shores, and there were other roadworks that started over six months ago, it’s just that the funding for the roadworks, because they had been dug up on those streets on Dunn, Landivar, Guadalupe, and I’ve been advocating heavily for these streets to be repaired since six months ago for us to get the funding for that. And so it’s not electioneering. These are roads that have already been in the pipeline for quite some time now.”
Viewers please note: This Internet newscast is a verbatim transcript of our evening television newscast. Where speakers use Kriol, we attempt to faithfully reproduce the quotes using a standard spelling system.
