DOE Assures Strict Compliance for Cayo Rosario Project

Personnel from the Department of the Environment and other key regulatory agencies recently met to discuss the Cayo Rosario Project. This meeting addressed public concerns and the government’s assurance that the developer will meet all requirements. The Cayo Rosario Project, which has been controversial due to its location within the Hol Chan Marine Reserve, dates back several years. Marion Ali spoke with Chief Environmental Officer Anthony Mai about the next steps and filed this report.

 

Marion Ali, Reporting

After a recent protest against the Cayo Rosario Development Project, several government departments and agencies have come together to decide on a collective approach. This is to make sure the project’s leaders follow all environmental requirements. Chief Environmental Officer Anthony Mai told News Five that the team has agreed to create a schedule for a monitoring program to oversee the different stages of the project.

 

Anthony Mai, Chief Environmental Officer

“In this case, if we do monitoring on the island, the Mining Unit would be represented to look at the mining related issues; Essential Building Authority will look at matters related to granting approval for the construction of buildings. The Lands Department was at the meeting, and in this case the Lands Department will look for any issue related to the construction of the pier and anything within the sixty-six-feet reserve. The Coastal Zone Management Authority was in the meeting and they will look at the coastal-related issues. The Fisheries Department was there, the Fisheries Department, and the Hol Chan Marine Reserve, as you know, has a co-management agreement for that particular area. So each agency during the site visit would have a specific role to play in terms of ensuring that the development meets their kind of conditions and then the D.O.E. comes in and we ensure that the overall E.C.P. is being complied with. This is the sustainable way through which the Government of Belize wants this type of projects to develop.”

 

Even before now, the project has had to comply with some tough regulations.

 

Anthony Mai

“The project went through the E.I.A. process. The E.I.A. process is a very tedious process to some degree. The importance of it, however, is that the relevant technical and scientific information is provided to the National Environmental Appraisal Committee, which currently, is comprised of 15 to 16 senior people within government, people from NGOs, people from the private sector, and from academia. So the E.I.A. report provides all the relevant information that they would need to advise the D.O.E. on any project, and in this particular case, the NEAC went through three deliberations, so three meetings because of early issues related to this project.”

 

Among the main concerns raised years ago was the potential impact on the local fly-fishing community. Mai mentioned that this concern has been considered since 2018. The meeting also reviewed the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to ensure the project met all requirements. The Environmental Compliance Plan (ECP) is available online, and Mai encourages everyone to download it to help authorities monitor the project. The ECP lists all the conditions for the project’s construction and includes the conceptual design. Mai also noted that the Cayo Rosario project isn’t the only one in a protected area to get the green light.

 

Anthony Mai

“There are private properties within protected areas, and the owners of those private properties could apply to the Department of Environment for environmental clearance for any development that he or she wants to do within a protected area. The caveat, however, is that the Government of Belize has the E.I.A. process through which we evaluate these projects, and we ensure that these projects, at the end of the day, if they are approved, have minimum impacts on the environment.”

 

An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a global standard for evaluating the environmental effects of proposed projects. To ensure the Cayo Rosario project meets these standards, the team will take several steps: improve communication about mining permits, mangrove alteration permits, and construction applications for piers and other structures. They will conduct an inter-agency site visit to check the project’s progress and ensure it complies with the Environmental Compliance Plan (ECP). Joint monitoring will happen during all key phases of the project, and they will frequently request status reports from the project owner. The Department of the Environment’s San Pedro office will also conduct regular compliance inspections. Marion Ali for News Five.