Placencia’s Sargassum Threat Looms Despite Temporary Relief

Placencia’s famous beaches are disappearing, and tourism stakeholders say government cannot afford to wait much longer. Business owners and village leaders describe the erosion as the worst they have seen in decades, warning that it could threaten the next tourism season and the livelihoods built around the peninsula’s coastline. They are now pressing for urgent action on both erosion and the recurring sargassum crisis. News Five’s Britney Gordon reports.

 

Britney Gordon, Reporting

Placencia sells itself on sun, sea and sand, but that sand is steadily disappearing. Residents and tourism operators say severe erosion is eating away at the peninsula’s shoreline and could leave lasting damage to one of Belize’s leading tourism destinations. With another tourism season approaching, stakeholders say they need action, not more waiting. The Placencia Village Council recently called an urgent meeting with tourism stakeholders. Chairman Warren Garbutt says the frustration goes beyond erosion. While less sargassum is washing ashore right now, stakeholders still have little information about preparations for its return.

 

On the Phone: Warren Garbutt, Chair, Placencia Village Council

“We met because, they were extremely concerned with the lack of action to address the erosion especially, but also there, there hasn’t been much concrete information on the plan to address the sargassum issue, even though we’re not getting as much sargassum right now. They’re of the opinion, as well as the council that, we need to work on these areas to prepare.”

 

Stakeholders want government to replenish eroded beaches with sand from suitable sources and begin short-term restoration work. They are also calling for technical advice to ensure those interventions do not cause further environmental damage. Fixing the sargassum problem will take government funding. Minister of Economic Transformation Dr. Osmond Martinez says international lenders have offered millions in assistance, but Belize may first need to declare sargassum a national crisis.

 

Osmond Martinez, Minister of Economic Transformation

“When we attended the World Bank’s Annual Meeting in Thailand with the Prime Minister, the World Bank has committed to help with ten million US dollars. IDB on the other hand, has a twenty million US dollars that they can assist with. But for us to be able to access the funds from IDB, practically we will have to declare the sargassum a crisis similar to any other natural disasters, whether it’s hurricanes, flood, droughts, or even fire, no? And so that is one of the discussions that we are having internally within the government whether it’s necessary to declare it a crisis.”

 

Government is also considering a proposal from Taiwanese experts to convert harvested sargassum into biomass pellets for energy production. That plan, however, would require crews to collect the seaweed before it reaches the beach and becomes contaminated. Government is exploring a long-term plan for sargassum and erosion, with Monkey River as a possible model. But Garbutt says stakeholders want action and communication, not silence when the shoreline clears.

 

On the Phone: Warren Garbutt, Chair, Placencia Village Council

“Communication has been a little lacking, but it’s been, in our opinion as well that, sargassum really takes the back burner after we get some relief, no? After it stops coming in. We don’t think that enough is done to prepare and plan for the upcoming year. Sargassum is not a new issue. It’s something that we’ve been facing since 2016, 2017 and the task force I believe, does a pretty good job of studying and looking for solutions. But we don’t see enough being done to prepare long-term plans and to see meaningful action.”

 

Martinez says government has recently stepped up its efforts, bringing in international experts to help prepare a long-term project proposal. The challenge now is finding solutions that protect the coastline without creating new environmental problems. For Placencia’s tourism operators, however, the clock is already ticking as another busy season approaches. Britney Gordon for News Five.

 

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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