A local furniture company, Belize Woodmark Designs Limited, has applied for a logging license in the area but concerns are already surfacing. Chief Forest Officer Wilbur Sabido has raised red flags, warning of serious ecological, hydrological, and even archaeological risks. So, will the Briceño administration greenlight the concession despite those concerns? Prime Minister Briceño says if logging is to happen, it must be done sustainably. But is that enough to protect one of Belize’s most treasured natural landscapes? Here’s what we found out.
Prime Minister John Briceño
“I was a minister responsible for natural resources and the forest department. The Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve was set up by the British almost a hundred years ago. It is for logging. Now, during my time we start to talk about sustainable logging and that is what we have been doing. I spoke to some of the technicians in the forestry department and they are saying, what this company did is that they are applying for a sustainable management contract with them. We have that already. We have it in the Chiquibul where Bullridge is working already in the Chiquibul with a sustainable logging. I don’t hear anybody the cry over it. With enforcement of course and it is running very well. You can ask Amin Bedran. They are trying to do it sustainably. We are doing it the right way. We want to protect the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve. We want to protect it. It is in our interest to protect it and that is exactly what we are doing.”
