In July of 2002, years of lobbying by Caye Caulker fisherman Lionel Heredia paid off when Swallow Caye was declared a marine reserve and a protected area. It was an important milestone because swallow Caye is home to one of the larger populations of the endangered Antillean manatee to be found in Belize. And so with the declaration in 2002, Heredia and his group, “The Friends of Swallow Caye” were given a paper. But what good is a paper if there is no cash to back it up. Well, tonight the friends of Swallow Caye have both the paper and now some cold hard cash in hand thanks to a $79,000 grant from the United Nations Development Program's (UNDP) Small Grants Scheme. The check was handed over at Swallow Caye and 7NEWS was there.
Keith SwiftReporting, [From Swallow Caye)
In a ceremony held on a skiff anchored in the Caribbean sea, 3 miles off the coast of Belize City, the man known as “Choco-latte” was handed a check for $45,000. This morning’s ceremony was held in the very waters where, for the greater part of the past two decades, Lionel Heredia has been the best friend the manatees who swim here have ever known. Today Heredia’s effort came full circle when the UNDP handed him that check which is the first installment of a $79,000 grant.
Lionel “Choco-latte” Heredia, Friends of Swallow Caye
“Thank you to everybody that finally we are going to do something with Swallow Caye. I am here and I don’t believe it because I had the dream but I never believed one day it would be complete. I am so happy here to tell you that at this place I spent a lot of time, a lot of hard work, and a lot of talking everyday but thank God now I feel more stronger and with my board of directors we will try to push as much as we could to protect these animals.”
And that is where the $45,000 will be put to work as Heredia along with the Friends of Swallow Caye group are now in charge of managing the Swallow Caye Marine Reserve which spans a vast 9,500 acres. So vast is it that their first expense will be a boat and rangers to patrol the massive expanse.
Lionel Heredia,
“The first thing and the most important thing is the boat and train the two patrols. And after that whatever the money is we will try and build our office.”
KS: So there will now be rangers patrolling this area?
Lionel Heredia,
“Yes because what we are going to build a little house and we are going to have two rangers. One ranger is going to stay there while one will go to the island and come every morning. We will have two boats: one will stay here with him and we will have base radio here while the other will be in Caye Caulker.”
KS: Isn’t that easier said than done since just this morning we saw two boats speed pass the protected area and ignored the signs?
Lionel Heredia,
“That’s the kind of scary and that’s why I want to have patrols that don’t go near and play with them but go and deal with them.”
So in the very near future Heredia says boat operators like this one which just indiscriminately zoomed past warning signs and endangered manatees will be ticketed by the rangers and forced to pay fines. That will be one source of income for Swallow Caye, but the main source will be a user fee of $20.
Lionel Heredia,
“The fee will be about $20.”
And Heredia says $20 isn’t too much to pay to watch these graceful cows of the sea frolic freely in the wild. Likewise, UNDP’s Phillip Balderamos says cutting this first check for $45,000 out of a total grant of $79,000 wasn’t too much either.
Phillip Balderamos, UNDP Small Grants Program
“Manatee is a globally endangered species and here in Belize we have an opportunity to protect the manatees and that is the primary reason why the small grants program chose to fund the conservation project for the co-management of Swallow Caye Wildlife Sanctuary.”
And the Friends of Swallow Caye led by Heredia believe that once given the chance this Caye can become a haven for manatees and pretty soon sightings will become a normality rather than an anomaly.
The exact amount of the grant is $79,025. Today’s disbursement was for $45,000 and the remainder will be disbursed over the next year.