The conservationists were going to protest in Belmopan next week but by agreeing to basically everything they're asking for, government has gotten them to back down. A significant meeting was held today in Belmopan. It was called by the Minister of Natural Resources Florencio Marin and he had senior officers from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Fisheries, Natural Resources, and the Departments of Lands and Environment. On the other side of the table was APAMO - the Association of Protected Areas Management Organizations.
And when the meeting was done, APAMO reports that the Minister agreed to the following.
- First that the government will not de-reserve the Bacalar Chico National Park.
- Second, and this is the biggest news, that government will stop de-reservation of all other protected areas.
- Third, that government will activate the National Protected Areas Commission,
- And fourth, that any future de-reservation will go through this Commission and all other required procedures - both scientific and consultional.
APAMO says it will remain vigilant but, having gotten all that it asked for, has called off the protest that was planned for next week.
And indeed, government has announced that it has nixed the Bacalar Chico deal. And while the announcement is not news, the spin that they put on it, is. First, the release says, "at no point did Cabinet take any decision to de-reserve these lands in the Bacalar Chico area." That's cold, because it flatly contradicts the express, recorded statement of the Deputy Prime Minister who told 7NEWS that a decision was taken to de-reserve. The release also says that the de-reservation of a World Heritage Site cannot be approved solely by Cabinet and that Cabinet could not and would not act arbitrarily in such a decision.
This also contradicts what the Minister of Tourism told 7NEWS. He said that Cabinet was not even informed and did not know that it was a World Heritage Site. The release also fails to disclose that a one million dollar down payment had already been made and this will now have to be refunded.
