Mangrove Guardians to Purchase Vulnerable Land in San Pedro

A new conservation push is taking shape along Belize’s coast. Guardians of Belize has launched its first chapter, Mangrove Guardians–Ambergris Caye, to defend the country’s disappearing mangroves. These coastal forests do the heavy lifting: they blunt storm surges, shelter juvenile fish, and help hold the shoreline together. But rapid development keeps eating away at them. World Wildlife Fund’s Nadia Bood told us Belize is at a “tipping point.” She said conservation leaders now want landowners and realtors directly involved. The aim is to prove that development and mangrove protection can work hand in hand. The group is creating practical guidance to help builders design projects with mangroves instead of clearing them out before more of Belize’s natural defenses vanish.

 

Nadia Bood, Senior Program Officer, World Wildlife Fund

“From our analysis right now, we know that a lot of the mangroves that is within Belize is in private hands. So that begs the need for us to either work with the landowners to reduce their environmental footprint when it comes to development, because you can develop more greenly, you can do development that that will be done in a way that will minimize your the level of clearance of mangroves that you want to do. Fit your aesthetic design for your development in a more green manner. And if there’s an opportunity to purchase back lands from these land owners, yes, I think it’s something good because you can then turn those into conservation, into reserves, into conservation easements. Anything that we can do to help conserve the mangroves that are currently exist would be a plus a win-win for us and for the country overall.”

 

Britney Gordon

“What are some of the main things that contribute to the degradation of mangroves?”

 

Nadia Bood

“When it comes to degradation of mangroves, a key thing is development. Development encroachment, whether it’s for tourism development. A lot of hotels and resorts are building up within mangroves. They’re clearing and filling mangroves. And so we’ve seen an expansion of that.” 

 

Conservation leaders say saving Belize’s mangroves starts with landowner before unchecked development wipes out the country’s natural storm shield.

 

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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