Government Moves Against Illegal Riverbank Clearing

Environmental authorities have stepped in after nearly four acres of vegetation were cleared along the Belize River, near Mile Six-and-a-Half on the Philip Goldson Highway. The clearing included roughly a quarter-acre of red mangroves, which authorities say were removed without the required permit. The Department of the Environment launched a joint inspection with the Forest Department and the Lands and Surveys Department after receiving a complaint about the activity. Inspectors confirmed that approximately three-point-seven-eight acres had been cleared. The Lands Department says the property is held under a title dating back to 1967 and does not include the standard sixty-six-foot riverbank reserve. But environmental officials make it clear that private ownership does not exempt landowners from laws protecting mangroves and regulating development. The Forest Department has since charged the landowner, Sanju Lal Chulani, under the Mangrove Regulations. Meanwhile, the Department of the Environment has ordered an immediate halt to any further development on the property. The landowner must now stabilize and restore the riverbank. That includes building a properly designed seawall and replanting mangroves throughout the affected area. However, the necessary permits and approvals must be secured before seawall construction begins, and the mangrove restoration must be coordinated with the Forest Department. Officials say the work will protect the river from erosion, sediment and poor water quality. The landowner must secure environmental clearance before any further development, while the Department of the Environment monitors the restoration.

 

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