Belize a desert? It may sound laughable for this water rich country, but the threat of what scientists call desertification is real. And under the theme "Land Degradation and Drought"over 50 land management experts gathered today at the Biltmore to consider a global environment wracked by climate change, and a national scene where agriculture and settlements are flattening once forested areas. Osmany Salas of the ministry of natural resources told us more:
Osmani Salas - Ministry of Natural Resources
"When people thing desertification, as you rightly said, they think about the Sahara desert, the Mohavi desert etcetera. But the way the term desertification is defined under the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, it has to do with land degradation and the way that the land is used that contributes to the degradation of the land. And there are various uses, of our activites, that contribute to degradation and the one that specifically pertains to the department I work for, which is the forestry department, is the issue of deforestation. Our forest reserves are under pressure and this is one case that we have to look at closely. There are several forest reserves across the country that have been reduced in size since they were first created. And there are many reasons for that. Agriculture development and expansion of settlements are the reasons for that."
Jules Vasquez
"Isn't this loss of, this deforestation I guess you can call it and land degradation and inevitable consequence of agricultural expansion which is a developmental priority?"
Osmani Salas
"Yes it is. Yes it is. This is why I need to refer to the main point of CEO Mendoza's opening remarks when she said: what we need in Belize is a land use planning framework. Which as she pointed out will eventually lead to a land use plan for Belize. So what we need is that. To determine what areas of our country should go towards a particular use."
The plan is to come up with a national plan in fulfillment of the Belize's obligations as a signatory to the United Nations Convention to combat desertification.