And while that is the work Government will now embark on with The Nature Conservancy, that's not the only major conservation initiative they are involved in with Belize. It was also announced today that the government has reached a a finalized agreement for the implementation of the Belize Maya Forest Project in Northern Belize.
That's the same proposed conservation initiative that became a political football after it was scandalized by the ruling party. Back in March, members of the new government condemned this project due to the deal which the former Barrow Administration signed with the Nature Conservancy. In the original agreement, TNC committed to the government that they would purchase 260 thousand acres of land in northern Belize from private landowners. The plan was that this purchased land would then be turned into a protected area with a pristine forest canopy. The problem is that, according to the PUP parliamentarians, the Barrow Government entered into a deal with TNC, which they think was too much of a give-away in exchange for forest conservation. That deal contemplated a 50-year tax break to TNC, as well as a government decision to forego the collection of millions of dollars in potential revenue for the government. Additionally, members of the PUP government were particularly aggrieved by what they saw as an unjustifiable give-away of the carbon credits attached to this proposed forest. Several months ago, the Prime Minister asserted that his administration would attempt to renegotiate the arrangement so that more money would come back to the government and people of Belize for this project. It appears that the renegotiation talks went according to plan. In a press release sent out today, the Government reports that they have arrived at what they think is an acceptable compromise with TNC, and another international conservation organization known as "Re:Wild." In a joint press release from GOB, TNC, and Re-Wild, all the parties say that they have agreed to a new model of how the protected lands would be taxed and how the proceeds from the sale of carbon credits connected to the project will be distributed. The government asserts that because of the new deal, an additional 20 million Belize dollars in land taxes will be paid to the government over 50 years. Also, the Government has the exclusive right to determine the use and disposition of a portion of the proceeds of the sale of the carbon credits. That will mean millions of additional dollars to the benefit of Belize. Prime Minister Briceno spoke about the renegotiation in the House today
Hon. John Briceno, Prime Minister
"So, after a few months of negotiations PNC and the Government of Belize, subject to cabinet's approval, have agreed to the following by way of a proposed supplemental agreement to be entered between TNC and GOB called the LFT Supplemental Agreement. A) that land taxes shall be payable on the MFT lands at a rate of $1.40 per acre, a discounted price. The previous they were giving free, we are saying pay something, something small. This will yield an approximate $364,000 per annum or 18 million, 200 thousand dollars over the period of 50 years, which as I said would have otherwise been foregone by the past UDP administration. B) any excess carbon sequesters credits offsets sale proceeds on their existing carbon over and above the 54.5 million US, being 50% of the acquisition cost interest and expenses or roughly 38.5 million US, 100% of the endowment class cap at 15 million US and management cost are cap at 1.1 million US."
"Remember what we whap we got with the settlement from BTL? they said all of that was going to a trust and then all of that money was taken out because of expenses. We decided that we ensure that there was going to be a cap. All of that money will be spent in Belize as exclusively determine by the Government pf Belize. So based on the pre-feasibility estimates of carbon sequester in respect to the Maya Forest Trust and this could in time yield a further 20 million dollars for the use of the government of Belize or even more, depending on the carbon markets. C) TNC and the MFT trustee will work with GOB to secure investments of approximately 20 million dollars over the next 10 years in order to improve re-generative agriculture and climate resilient land management in the region of the Maya Forest Trust Lands, and D) In the interest of promoting active Belizean involvement, management and ownership in conservation, the Belize Maya Trust Fund Trustee will transition to a fully independent local NGO to be govern by a majority Belize board of directors with representation from relevant stakeholders including the government of Belize."
Later on in the news, we'll tell you about the concept of carbon credits, and why it is a big deal for conservation, revenue generation for participating counties, and the battle against global warming and the excess carbon in the atmosphere that's wrecking the world's climate.
