GOB Appoints National Protected Areas Commission

The plan was that conservation groups were going to march on Belmopan yesterday. But that was called off a week earlier when government gave up on its plan to de-reserve Bacalar Chico and gave in to all the demands being made by APAMO – the Association of Protected Areas Management Organizations. One of those demands was that government must activate and convene the National Protected Areas Commission.

And, faster than you can say “buckle”, Natural Resource and Environment Minister Florencio Marin officially appointed the 17 member commission. It met today in what seems to be a new spirit of impasse and partnership for protected areas. The body is tasked to improve management of Belize’s protected areas.