Residents Continue Protest of Cayo Rosario Project, Public Meeting Set For Coming Week

Concerned Belizeans have been invited to unite against the controversial Cayo Rosario development project, which lies within the Hol Chan Marine Reserve. The meeting was called Elito Arceo via social media. According to Arceo, the meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 8.”Bring your signs condemning the destruction of Cayo Rosario,” he said. “As once it is destroyed, it’s gone forever.”

This call comes after environmental groups and local residents, supported by Oceana Belize, have raised alarms about the project’s potential environmental impact. The project has been in the works for several years. Despite having passed an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), protesters claim ongoing excavation and mangrove destruction pose a significant threat.

Arceo added, “They will be destroying an integral part of our beloved Hol Chan Marine Reserve. We all depend on a healthy marine ecosystem to survive.”On March 27, Chief Environmental Officer Anthony Mai said that no dredging was occurring at the site. However, locals like tour guide Oscar Iboy have disputed this, claiming to have witnessed dredging activities themselves. Iboy stated, “The people out here in San Pedro are the ones watching and seeing the excavation that’s going on, and I don’t know what he means by they’re not doing any dredging.”

The Department of the Environment (DOE) has organised a monitoring programme to ensure compliance throughout the project’s stages.

Arceo added in his announcement statement, “If the authorities upon whose shoulders the safeguarding of the reserve falls upon and it is their responsibility, don’t care. Then we will show them that we certainly give a damn about Hol Chan. Dis da fu we Belize.”