Military Training, it's taking place in the jungles of Belize at any given time and while it doesn't affect those of us in the urban jungles, it could be having real effects on wildlife in our protected areas.
It's a concern that was raised by a 2017 Environmental Impact Assessment which produced a full set of compliance measures for training within the jungles of Belize.
One of those measures is the seeking of new information through supporting research, and that's just what BATSUB did today when they donated a suite of wildlife capture cameras to their research Partner's at Panthera-Belize.
7 news attended the handing over ceremony where we found out just how soldiers and jaguars coexist in the jungle.
The British Army Training Support Unit, or BATSUB: their presence in Belize has varied in reason and size over the years. Once upon a time the British Army was here to protect us from potential Guatemalan invasion but today BATSUB is a training facility, and in recent years, jungle warfare mock battles has been their entire reason for maintaining a base in Belize.
But while they prepare soldiers to face the world's deep, dark jungles they've been careful to conserve the environment that's they rely on for their activities.
Lt. Col Simon Nickels - Commander of BATSUB "BATSUB takes its environmental responsibilities very seriously. It is not wasted on us that we are guests here in this beautiful land and that we have to thread carefully and lightly. An environmental compliance requirement from the DOE is to have a monitoring strategy in place to undertake systematic recordings of wildlife in and around our live firing ranges. DIO BATSUB have contracted with Panthera to deliver a three-year monitoring program to test the effects of military training and specifically live firing on the mammalian species here in Belize."
But monitoring those mammals requires specialized equipment, such as camera traps many of which were destroyed in April's extensive forest fires.
Emma Sanchez - Research Biologist "Camera traps are an extremely useful means of monitoring wildlife remotely, however, while leaving them in the field as automated monitoring devices some cameras can get stolen, waterlogged, or even lost to fires. I want to thank BATSUB DIO in behalf of Panthera for providing us with extremely useful replacement cameras to our project. They will be put to good use within out monitoring program in which we continuously assess the safety of the Belizean wildlife in the key areas within and outside the protected area system."
And today that task got a little easier with BATSUB's donation of $6000.00 BZD worth of replacement cameras.
Lt. Col Simon Nickels "These cameras funded by the United kingdom Ministry of defence, defence infrastructure organization oversees stewardship fund replace those that have been lost in the recent wildfires and will enable Pantera to continue it's valuable work. Presenting these replacement cameras for the ones lost in the wildfires is a sign of our commitment and continued support to the environmental conservation here in Belize."
It's a gesture that the scientists from Panthera greatly appreciated
Emma Sanchez "Apart from Pantera carrying out the monitoring project of life firing by training troops, I can say the relationship has grown beyond this assessment, we view BATSUB DIO as a committed conservation partner providing considerable logistical support and information to government and the wider conservation community in general. The British Army is a valuable partner in Belize's conservation efforts and hope that our collaboration will continue into perpetuity."
It's a symbiotic relationship for the vulnerable creatures of Belize and the formidable British army, both of whom have learned to thrive in Belize's stunning forests.
Lt Col Nichols also highlighted BATSUB's tree planting efforts, using air assets to compile environmental records on behalf of the DOE.
