We also asked the Prime Minister about that other controversial development that is being proposed at Cayo Rosario.
It's a 10-acre island off the northwest coast of San Pedro, Ambergris Caye that's in the middle of the Hol Chan Marine Reserve. The intended developers wanted to build a slew of over-the-water structures for a resort, but constant public pressure from conservation-minded San Pedranos and assessments by the government's environmental technocrats have forced a significant downsizing of the project.
The National Environmental Appraisal Committee has given the project permission to move forward. So, we asked PM Briceno for his take on the project proposal that continues to spark negative reactions from island residents:
Jules Vasquez - Host
"I've heard you mention it on other shows. It's a huge development, and you said that certain key persons at BELTRAIDE will help to steer it through. Do you believe that over-the-water structures should be built?"
Hon. John Briceno - Prime Minister
"Well, they've been done all over the world."
Jules Vasquez
"So, yes."
Hon. John Briceno
"Provided that it follows the environmental regulations, and we ensure that we are taking good care of under the water, it can be done. But, it can't be done grotesquely. It has to be done within reason. You can't say that you're going to put a thousand of them over the water, kind of thing. We have to find that balance."
Jules Vasquez
"But, you agree that it will incur a lot of blowback from the community. You know how ardently protective they are."
Hon. John Briceno
"Whatever we do, somebody is not going to be happy, but the important thing is that we'll be able to create jobs and that the government will be able to create more taxes to be able to address the issues that we have to do, the work of the Belizean people."
Jules Vasquez
"But, your government stood against this when it was proposed under the UDP. Certainly, Andre Perez did."
Hon. John Briceno
"And even now, he still has his concerns, and that's fine. We understand that, but at the end of the day, we have to look at what we believe is the bigger picture."
"As I'm being told, I've been told that the Cayo Rosario area was bought before that area was declared a protected area. And usually, when that happens, the owners in that area get a grandfather clause that would allow them to be able to develop, but within reason, so that it would not have a really bad, adverse effect in the protected area."
2 days ago, the pressure group known as the Ambergris Caye Citizens for Sustainable Development, sent out a press release.
In it, they reference the comments which the Minister of the Blue Economy made 2 weeks ago, when he appeared on Uncut.
That statement says, quote, "It should be made perfectly clear that, as a community and stakeholders, we have not been consulted. Certainly, we are still completely against any structures being built inside the conservation zone of the marine reserve… It affects the livelihood of many on the island and threatens to destroy not only the marine environment… but also the social and economic good that flyfishing, as sustainable use of resources, provides to us as a community… This project got environmental clearance after an inadequate and unjust process of limited and biased consultation..." End quote
