Category: Environment

Over the past year, Mayor Earl Trapp of San Ignacio/Santa Elena has been vocal about the poor management of garbage at the western landfill facility run by the Belize Solid Waste Management Authority, located just outside the town. Trapp’s main concern is that the garbage hasn’t been moved to the transfer station at mile twenty-four on the George Price Highway quickly enough. This has led to heaps of trash piling up, even in front of the buildings at the landfill, leaving little room for more waste. Today, we noticed some improvements as the garbage piled at the front has been cleared away. However, Trapp is still urging for a proper system to be put in place.

Earl Trapp, Mayor, San Ignacio/Santa Elena

“They will need to put proper procedures in place to manage the garbage and to dispose of it so that we don’t come to that again because we were there in December of last year and it was really out of control, so I think that BSWAMA will need to do something to better is disposed of and then carried to the station. Get it out of that compound in a timely manner so it will not pile up like we saw in December. Right now I have a truck there from morning and still it cannot empty. Benque has garbage to take, the resorts have garbage to take so something has to be done so that garbage can be disposed of there as quickly as possible.”

Aldo Cansino, the Acting Director of the Belize Solid Waste Management Authority, told News Five that the issue wasn’t about procedures but rather contract management. He assured that the problem has been resolved with the contractor, and garbage should no longer be piling up in the front yard of the landfill facility in San Ignacio.

Aldo Cansino, Acting Director, BSWAMA

“We sat down with the operator, we highlighted several issues with the contract; he highlighted several concerns. Through dialogue, we were able to iron out some of those issues on both sides and we were able to proceed.”

Marion Ali

“Can you share those concerns?”

Aldo Cansino

“The road caused a delay and that diminished the number of trucks that came in. And from our end we had issues with timely payments. So these things – dialogue is important and that’s how we are able now to work together. We are joined at the hips because he has a contract and we have an obligation. So we’ve been trying to work it out. If you had come here sometime last year you would have seen that garbage was piled all the way to the front. Working with them, we almost had it back to normal so the plan that we had been executing was working. We also was looking at contingencies in the event that didn’t work so we already had identified how we would have addressed it like a plan B and a plan C.”

The Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute Belize is currently addressing a mass stranding of pilot whales in the Drown Caye area, just off the coast of Belize City. Authorities have issued an urgent advisory for the public and all marine vessels to avoid the area immediately. Approaching the stranded whales poses significant risks to both humans and animals. Pilot whales, known for their size and strength, can react unpredictably when distressed. The Institute’s response team, in collaboration with the Belize Fisheries Department and the Ministry of Blue Economy and Marine Conservation, is closely monitoring the situation and providing necessary aid to the whales.

Jamal Galves, Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute

“We’re looking at the incidents currently and I must say that these incidents have been occurring on a yearly basis, we’ve seen it over the last few years and we continue to monitor it. Currently, we’re just observing from a distance, hoping that they’ll make their way back to deeper waters before intervening. Should it become more urgent, should the animals come more closer to the coastline, should they get into more areas that are problematic for them, then we would intervene, of course in collaboration with the Fisheries Department and the Ministry of Blue Economy and Marine Conservation, along with our team, to see what best we can do. Pilot whales are typically some of the best navigators of the sea, so when they get into a situation like this, it already alludes that there are some problem that is [happening] among their pods. One of the common things is that pilot whales have very tight bonds with their pod, so one pilot whale could be sick or disoriented and it will cause the entire pod to get into problems.”

Whale sharks, typically seen in Belize during the spawning season, have been notably absent for some time. Experts suggest several possible reasons for this change, including climate change and unmonitored tourism activities. Additionally, there may be a decline in fish spawning, which affects the whale sharks’ feeding patterns. These gentle giants are known -to seek out warmer waters in this region to feed during spawning times. Jamal Galves from the Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute Belize says that whale sharks, just like pilot sharks, are being spotted in our waters.

Jamal Galves, Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute

“During the spawning season, whale sharks are known to be in Belize and records have shown that they haven’t been here for a while.  That could be attributed to many things, climate change, it could be unmonitored tourism activities.  Maybe the fish aren’t spawning as much as they used to, but I know of our whales, particularly, these parts of the world, the warmer waters is what they really seek to feed during these times.  Pilot whales are typical in Belize, they’re normally offshore so people are not aware of them, you’ll find them off Lighthouse, Glovers Reef and those places.  Actually, after the post was made, somebody reached out to me and they said that they saw pilot whales in Glovers’ Reef this weekend. It could possibly be the very same pod that is making its way into the coast.  There are numerous reasons for pilot whales to strand, it could be simple things like marine traffic, shipping noises, seismic testing.  Ocean noises can affect their hearing and their ability to navigate. One of the most important thing is that we want mariners to be aware of it, if possible, avoid going into that area. You don’t want to cause additional problems to a pod that is already compromised. People may be intrigued to want to go out there and see, but pilot whales can be dangerous, they do have teeth, unlike some other baleen whales, they can bite and so we’re asking people to stay away from them as best as possible.”

Galves contacted News Five with an update late this evening. He clarified that the initial report was based on a distant video showing what seemed to be pilot whales. However, new, closer footage clearly shows they are false killer whales. The public advisory hasn’t changed.

The ongoing erosion of Placencia beach has sparked concern among the community, leading to discussions on how to tackle the problem before the popular tourist spot loses its entire beachfront. The Ministries of Natural Resources, Sustainable Development, and Infrastructure Development recently met with Placencia residents to address the issue. News Five’s Marion Ali spoke with Brice Dial, the Placencia Village Council Secretary, and Albert Loewen, a property owner, who explained the plan to move forward. Here’s the report.

Marion Ali, Reporting

In March, several Placencia residents gathered at the beach to remove rocks that had been piled up in front of private property as a form of protection. The property owner, worried about erosion on his beachfront, had built the rock wall to preserve the area. However, environmental research shows that these rock walls cause erosion at other beachfront properties further south on the peninsula. Erosion has been a problem in Placencia for a while now. Brice Dial, Secretary of the Placencia Village Council, says that progress in one part of the area has led to problems for them in Placencia.

On the Phone: Brice Dial, Secretary, Placencia Village Council

“There’s a lack of flow of sand coming to the peninsula now, partly because of extraction of material from the South Stann Creek River and diversions to the river. There has been a diversion for pumping water, for irrigation for the banana farms. So that’s one of the issues.”

The erosion problem worsened for Placencia residents living south of the peninsula because those living to the north placed rocks on the beach in front of their homes to protect their beachfront.

On the Phone: Brice Dial

“If every single property owner along the coast is capturing sand, at some point there is going to be no sand moving down south, which is basically where we’re at right now. So that natural replenishment that used to happen isn’t happening, and we had a scientist here working along with a group called Strong Coast, and that scientist gathered data of the entire peninsula. And there was a meeting, I think it’s going on two weeks now. He said in the meeting, he’s a specialist with coastal erosion. He said that approach is not something that is recommended by the experts. It just fixes the immediate problem in front of a property, but overall it causes more damage than good.”

A Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of South Florida recently conducted a project in Placencia. She also weighed in on the erosion issue and shared Dr. Ping Wang’s suggestions from a community meeting on the topic.

Maya Trotz, Professor, Environmental Engineering, University of South Florida

“The question for here is, I think, do you go through that process of doing the rocks and the sea walls and then learning two decades later that you know, there is another way to do this? Or do you start sort of testing and doing some pilots on what beach nourishment might look like, coupled with many other things, so coupled with beach nourishment, but maybe coupled with adding more vegetation, so that you have some sort of dunes on the beach front that can also help to hold the sand. Many people here would like to see more literal forests and just the natural vegetation come back and then on the seaside, if you nourish the beach – so this is like bringing your sand onto the beach and then it over time will naturally form with a structure that would stay there for longer. You’ll continue to have to nourish, but it’ll be a couple years maybe, and then maybe, you know, Dr. Wang was talking this morning when we passed the Placencia airport, that that has a lot of rocks. It’s important infrastructure, but also that might be an area where you could cover the rocks and make that sort of a dune.”

Albert Loewen lives in the northern end, in Maya Beach. He came up with a plan to solve the issue.

Albert Loewen, Property Owner, Maya Beach

“I already asked somebody this week if I could start with my beach if I was allowed to barge in some sand to replenish my beach, and they said that’d be a good idea to actually do a trial on my beach at my cost to try barge in some sand and see how replenishment works. So I think that’s the approach and then we try to get government involved because again, Placencia generates a lot of income for Belize. The initial issue that Placencia had, they needed about $200,000 to fix their problem that they have right now, so they’ll have to spend about a half a million dollars to start with or more, but once we get it fixed once, we will probably only have to spend about a hundred thousand a year to keep the replenishment stable in on, on the, on the Placencia beach.”

Loewen estimates it will cost about a quarter million dollars to dredge material from the sea and fill the eroded beach. He believes this is a better option than placing rock walls along the northern end of the peninsula, which would eventually leave the entire south of Placencia without a beach. However, a recent meeting between the village council and relevant ministries has resulted in a plan. According to a press release, they are committed to addressing any human-induced factors contributing to the problem. They also acknowledge the impact of climate change on Placencia. The plan includes enforcing environmental regulations strictly against non-compliance and increasing vigilance through frequent inspections. Additionally, they will formally notify the Cabinet of the concerns raised by all stakeholders and the proposed actions by agencies to address the issue. Marion Ali for News Five.

A village council is putting its foot down in Orange Walk after the Lands Advisory Committee began taking steps to subdivide a nature park in the community. Earlier this month, the San Jose Nuevo Palmar Village council wrote to, Chairman of the Committee, Wincy Perez, strongly opposing the subdivision of the Siibal Yum Nature Park. In the letter, Village Chairman Orlando Ayuso explains that over twenty thousand dollars has been invested into the renovation of the park, which has become a popular spot for leisure and recreational activities in the community. We spoke with Ayuso today to hear why the council believes the park has become an integral part of the community.

Orlando Ayuso, Chairman, San Jose Nuevo Palmar

“The state of the park, right now’s a clean park, a usable space. If you go to our social media page, we just had a very successful Easter egg hunt. And when we came by asking for the vote for the second term, we promised the people in that area, you’re gonna have a park. We’re gonna clean this up. People will stop dumping garbage. You will stop smelling the stench of rotten carcasses because you used to dump dead dogs, dead chickens, people who are running poultry shops to dump the feathers and things over there. It was hard to monitor because of the lack of resources and finances. And as usual, I, as a chairperson, took the lead. Two of my members, my vice chairman and one of my counselors, went on to offer themselves for election for Lands Committee. And they won. They won because they’re very good leaders, so people look at them as somebody who could lead. And it just so happened that now they’re on that side that one of it’s not them that wanna subdivided. It’s a little group of people guiding them into subdividing this park. So that is how we arrive at where we are today, that day that the Palmar Village Council is asking the Lands Committee to not do that subdivision because it is already an established part. It’s a pity. It’s a pity because on that side of the village, these people haven’t gotten much, and this is the first meaningful thing that they’re getting from any group that has been governing the village and children are using that playground already. They go there to play, it’s a safe environment. In the afternoons, people go and walk around it and work out because most people work out on Boundary Road, which is a busy street. So it’s safer for them to go one street behind to the park. We know as Siibal Yum Nature Park and they some ride their bicycles around, some walk around. And we are trying to keep it natural because you wanna create a nature park. We’re planting more trees. We have put in a few park benches because it’s community-based, so people have been donating those benches were donated by villagers, not by any group specifically, but by villagers. So if this was to be taken away, then they’re taking away the only recreational area that side of the village has.”

San Jose Palmar has a unique history that shapes how land is distributed in the community. Descendants of the village can use the land freely, with the government acting as a trustee and the Lands Advisory Committee deciding on the distribution. Recently, the Palmar Village Council sent a letter to Orange Walk East Area Representative Kevin Bernard, expressing their concerns about the potential subdivision of the land. They emphasized that the community has greatly benefited from the park and stressed that any decisions about the land should be made transparently.

Orlando Ayuso, Chairman, San Jose Nuevo Palmar

“The subdivision, yes, it should be given to the descendants, but at the end of the day, they have also agreed that they’re gonna sell two land, two of those land to make back monies.  do understand that there is some financial issue between the last outgoing Lands Committee and the present lands committee now, but that is something for them to solve. That is a descendant issue, a land advisory committee issue. Apart from that, as Village Council Chairman, my part is to protect parks and playgrounds, which I am given that right under the Village Council Act. And I wanna see this park remain because I do believe in green areas. I wanna see this park remain because I do having green areas because it is beneficial for the community. I do understand from those twelve lots that will come out from that park, two will be sold. And they already have the bias for those supposedly we don’t. And the question we need that descendants need to raise to their committee, who are going to be the people getting this land cause we hear a lot of rumors out there, which I prefer not to repeat because like I say, it’s rumors, but they need to ask the question, who will be the ones getting these lands? It is heartbreaking. The figure quoted in the letter of twenty thousand is not physically cash. People have contributed  their time in cleaning. People have contributed fuel, some have contributed the benches, they have contributed food for the workers. So all of that, the time invested, the work invested is what adds up to that. It was never like twenty thousand in hand we are investing. The lands committee did spend a bit of finance there because they’re the ones that have the more finance in the village council. So we had to piggyback on them for that at the beginning. Truckloads of garbage came out from there that had to be dumped. Bulldozer had to be put in to start cleaning up the area. So a lot of work has gone in and people from the community have gone there to put in physical labor. So people feel that they belong. This is a part of them. This is they’re giving back to the community and they’re creating something for everybody. Nobody’s taking ownership on this. It’s something for everyone to enjoy.”

The Easter holiday is just around the corner, and many are in the final stages of their travel preparations. As the public gears up to embark on various land and sea journeys, the Belize Police Department is reminding everyone to exercise extreme caution this season. Last year, Belize observed a record year for fatal road traffic accidents, and holidays are an exceptionally dangerous time to be travelling on the motorways. Commissioner of Police Chester Williams shares some tips on how to achieve a fun and safe holiday this year.

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“At this time of the year we know that the length season is one that many Belizeans would take for granted, and it has troubled us for many years. We see an increase in loss of lives, not just on the highways, but on the waterways. And so we normally encourage our people to exercise extreme caution when using the highways. Try to drive within speed limits. Do not drive recklessly. Stay on your side of the road. And those who goes through waterways always try to take somebody with you. Don’t go alone because sometimes you go into these rivers, water is so cold, you catch a cramp. If nobody’s there to assist you, you might just submerge and never resurface. And so again, try to go with somebody and do not go into water is too deep that you will not be able to stand with your head above above the water. And again, the police and the police department will be working very closely with department of Transport countrywide on highways to make sure that we do our part to mitigate. The the occurrences of traffic accidents on the highways around this time.”