Over the past few months, there has been much talk about the Sarstoon Temash National Park because of proposed oil explorations in the park. These are presently at a standstill as a result of a court injunction won by SATIIM, the Sarstoon Temash Institute for Indigenous Management which, along with the government, co-manages the park. But while the issues have been much discussed, most don't even know where the Sarstoon Temash National Park is. In an effort to make the general public more aware of what's at stake, SATIIM invited the Belize City-based press out to the furthest point south of the country. 7NEWS was there for the journey.
Greg Choc, Executive Director - SATIIM
"We are in the Sarstoon Temash National Park and what you are seeing around here is a mixture of different ecosystems, thirteen eco-systems we've found in the Sarstoon Temash National Park. This is what the battle is all about."
Greg Choc, Executive Director for SATIIM invited the media to Toledo to show the wider public what the Sarstoon Temash National Park is exactly. The tour traveled 13 miles along the coast of Toledo to the Sarstoon River, the southernmost point of the country. Any more movement down south and we'd be in Sarstun Village in Guatemala. Then it was on to the Temash River. Along the banks the presence of wildlife is evident and so too is the verdant, unexplored mangrove forests. Moving further up river, the landscape changes into majestic hardwood forests.
This is what the contention is all about between U.S. Capital Energy, SATIIM and the government of Belize.
Greg Choc,
"We have been over the last months talking about Sarstoon Temash National Park and very few of our know where it is, what it looks like, what it encompasses."
And what it encompasses is a 41,898-acre swath of land that was declared a national park in 1994. Since then these lands that are bordered by the villages of Barranco, Crique Sarco, Midway, Sunday Wood and Conejo, have come under a co-management agreement between the government of Belize and SATIIM. Saleem Chan is the park's manager.
Saleem Chan, Park Manager
"The different uses that have been going on within the boundaries of the park, we have several ecosystems, they are very important. We have some hills in the northern region of the park that the Ketchi people use, mainly from Midway Village, they access that area to do their ceremonies. Certain times of the year they will go in and they will do offerings, do prayers, and so for spiritual purposes.
The Sarstoon-Temash National Park was declared a park back in 1994 with even consulting the five communities within the buffer region. These people, both the Ketchi and the Garifuna indigenous people of Belize, have been using the Sarstoon-Temash Region for centuries. For hundreds of years they have been living here, been living in harmony with nature, hunting, farming, fishing. Also, the people within the five buffer communities have been accessing this area for game and that is one of the things that has been banned within the boundaries of the park.
While we were in consultations with the Forestry Department and government, several documents were submitted to SATIIM with our requests, documents from communities requesting the activities that they have been using the resources within the boundaries of the park.
The Garifuna people from Barranco would access the palm and use it to construct their ceremonial structures and they have what we call the Dugu Temple and they would use it to construct the Dugu Temple. Also they use it for thatching. They claim that it is better than the cohune leaf, it lasts for up 15 or 20 years if it is properly thatched."
While it is clear that the area is bountiful above ground, U.S. Capital Energy believes that there is even more bounty below ground in the form of petroleum. In an effort to try to exactly determine if there is indeed oil the oil company began to demarcate some areas that fall within the park. These markers show where what are known as transect lines will go, cutting trails to allow for seismic testing.
Greg Choc,
"All of these lines going north to west, west to south are in fact transit lines. This is what it will look like on the ground. The kind of activities that the company wants to engage in, in the park, is not allowed under the National Parks Act. Even if they should find oil here, if they find oil within the park, there is really no discussion on the part of the company, the government, on what they will do. So it is as if though they are giving the okay but not quite certainly…well probably they know what they will do but they are not informing the community, the organization managing the park with them, or the people of Belize about what they are going to do within the park."
And it is because of that uncertainty about what the oil exploration means in particular for the residents of the 5 surrounding communities and by extension the entire nation, that SATIIM is fervently opposing any further work in the park as long as that work proceeds without a clear picture of how all stakeholders will be affected.
In tomorrow night's newscast our coverage continues with ongoing points of contention that SATIIM's work is causing within the communities they have pledged to serve.
