Over a Dozen Groups Attend Meeting to Reject Cayo Rosario

Several concerned groups in San Pedro are rallying against the Cayo Rosario project and have devised a plan to halt its progress. At a public meeting on Tuesday night, the groups, united under the San Pedro Citizens for Sustainable Development, announced their intention to lawyer up and prevent Cayo Rosario from disrupting the seabed around the island. While the six-acre island is private property, the surrounding sea is part of the Hol Chan Marine Reserve. The citizens are firm that, regardless of any approval the developer has from the Department of Environment, they do not want the project to impact on the sea. Here’s News Five’s Marion Ali with more on what the islanders had to say about Cayo Rosario.

 

Concerned Citizen #1

“Our home is your home but we have rules if you come here. You cannot destroy it.”

 

Concerned Citizen #2

“No structure over the water. They started at a hundred and ten approved, they went down to forty, my brother, they’re not going to get even one.”

 

Concerned Citizen #3

“Don’t destroy the islands; don’t destroy for development. Build your development around what exists.”

 

Wally Nunez, Mayor, San Pedro

“This is not about colours and this is not about pointing fingers to who approved or who didn’t approve. We need to fight so that in the future these things don’t happen but we need to fight so that this one doesn’t happen.”

 

Concerned Citizen #4

“We need to fight; we need to go to Belmopan and do a demonstration. Don’t be afraid.”

 

Concerned Citizen #5

“Yes, I’m emotional because I love that Belize is ours and I’m going to fight teeth, hands and feet to show that this is what we want.”

 

Marion Ali, Reporting

Tuesday night at the San Pedro Lion’s Den was heated, with tempers flaring and emotions running high. The crowd gathered to voice their strong objections to the Cayo Rosario development. According to a revised Environmental Compliance Plan signed by the Department of the Environment and the developer in 2020, the project can move forward if it meets the environmental requirements. Just last week, government agencies reviewed the project again and gave it the green light. Right now, Cayo Rosario has an unfinished cement structure standing over the sea, connected to the island by a pier. This is the model for the other thirty-nine structures they plan to build, which means driving hundreds of piles into the seabed to support the buildings and piers. San Pedro Mayor Wally Nunez, who is also a licensed tour operator, attended the meeting. He understands the residents’ concerns and says he’s standing with them in this cause.

 

Wally Nunez, Mayor, San Pedro

“Even though Cayo Rosario doesn’t fall under the Town Council’s jurisdiction, and we have expanded our municipal boundaries, and it still doesn’t include Cayo Rosario, even though it’s that part of our jurisdiction, it directly affects our people. It’s the livelihood of our fishermen, of our tour guides that visit these islands, and so we have to be concerned. So, I came here today not only as a mayor, but also as a tour guide; also as a resident to listen out and to be informed more than anything else about what is the situation with Cayo Rosario. I’m here to stand with my people and we will fight the fight if that’s the case.”

 

We tried to get a comment from Belize Rural South Area Representative and Blue Economy Minister, Andre Perez, but had no luck. So, we asked Mayor Nunez about their discussions on the topic to find out where the minister stands.

 

Wally Nunez

“I have reached out to him and I know that himself as well as Hol Chan were trying to fight this not to happen. However, there are permits already issued and if that is the case, then there are some legalities when it comes to these things. So, we’re just looking at different options and partnering with the San Pedro Citizens for Sustainable Development.”

 

Oceana, represented by Alyssa Noble, as well as the World Wildlife Fund, represented by Nadia Bood, were on hand to lend their support to the fight against the project.

 

Nadia Bood, Senior Program Officer, W.W.F.

“Only through your voices can there be changes. When communities are effectively engaged, change will happen. So I commend you guys and we will be there to support you along the way.”

 

Alyssa Noble, Communications Director, Oceana

“There are Belizeans everywhere who are fighting this fight, and we’re going to continue fighting this fight, if we don’t take a stand now. So we’re here to show support, we’re here to support; we’re here to lend experience, expertise, because this is not new.”

 

The Hol Chan Marine Reserve, established in 1987, aims to protect marine areas where endangered species thrive. Interestingly, no one from Hol Chan attended the meeting, but former Director Miguel Alamilla, a trained marine biologist, is fully backing the groups opposing the project. He mentioned that during his time leading the Hol Chan Marine Reserve, he fought hard to keep the sea around Cayo Rosario untouched.

 

Miguel Alamilla, Marine Biologist

“The whole idea was to keep it pristine, natural for the fishermen to maintain their livelihoods for maybe perpetuity. Bonefish feed on those sandy flats and those researchers – that’s why I question the validity of that research because if you go there, you see white sand, but within that sand there’s a lot of organisms and crustaceans living within that eco-system and that’s where the bonefish go and feed.”

 

When the developers of Cayo Rosario purchased the six-acre island in 2008, the Hol Chan Marine Reserve did not include the sea around the island. The reserve was expanded in 2015 and that was when the sea around the island became a part of the reserve. Despite everything, the groups firmly believe that private property doesn’t extend to the surrounding sea and that no development should interfere with it. The public meeting was led by the San Pedro Citizens for Sustainable Development. The organization has over a dozen group members comprising tour operators, environmentalists and concerned residents. The San Pedro Tour Operators Association, chaired by Roberto Canul, is one of its members.

 

Roberto Canul, Chairman, San Pedro Tour Operators Association

“If they destroy those flats, you will never see the marine life, the fishes, the bonefish, the tarpon, the permits that visit those areas. You will never see that again. We just saw a video the other day of people being chased from the area because of the development that is happening there, and we don’t stand for those type of things.”

 

The Environmental Compliance Plan states in Point One that clearance is given to Cayo Rosario Development Limited for the construction of, among other things, overwater bungalows, an arrival dock, an outdoor pool, an island villa, island cottages, a beach club and an education center. Dr. Abdiel Perez, another marine biologist, explained that the activities in the sea have already had a negative impact on the seabed.

 

Dr. Abdiel Perez, Marine Biologist

“Just that area in the south, where they are already putting a lot of the material hosted at least eight hundred to a thousand bonefish easily at any time. Because of all of the development, there’s nothing there now. All the dredging, all the noise, all the material that they’re dumping is changing the entire bottom.”

 

The concerned groups are planning to hire a legal expert to help them navigate the situation. They’re also setting up a GoFundMe account to cover their expenses. In the coming weeks, they plan to create videos showing the damage that’s already occurred and seek international support to halt the project’s progress. Marion Ali for News Five.

 

The concerned groups had also rejected the Blackadore Development Project several years ago, which had a similar plan to build overwater structures. That project did not materialize as a result. News Five has tried to get a comment from the representatives of the Cayo Rosario project, but our efforts have been futile.