Last night we told you about the proposal form a furniture company to extract timber from 5,600 acres in a pristine part of the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve known as the Western Hardwoods. The Chief Forest Officer made a strong case against it in a memo leaked to 7News - but the Minister of Sustainable Development seems to be saying yes. We'll have reaction to that shortly.
But, first, tonight, we have another leaked document from the Forest Department. This one is about a proposal to privately manage four recreation sites in the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve.
And again, the Chief Forest Officer is advising in one direction - and the Minister seems inclined to go the other way. Jules Vasquez has a look at this leaked document:
A company named Selva Conservation wants to manage four recreation sites in the Mountain Pine Ridge area: they are Pinol Sands, Rio Frio, Granite Falls and the Ballerina Area.
It's proposed as a Private-Public-Partnership promising improved management of the Mountain Pine Ridge recreational sites, and contributing to the financial sustainability of the National Protected Areas System - among other objectives.
According to the companies register Selva is a company incorporated in December of 2024.
The Minister told us he encourages it:
Orlando Habet, Minister of Sustainable Development:
"it has several areas where there is a lot of potential and so if investors can do it then that is the part of the business sector side that we want to encourage."
But, in his assessment contained in this memo, the Chief Forest Officer does not encourage it. He warns that the contract would create a a monopoly and he warns, such a model must be approached with caution..and developed in consultation with a broad range of Stakeholders operating in the reserve, local communities, and conservation groups.
He warns also against the avoiding the "perception or reality of full privatization, which would undermine public trust. Any arrangement must guarantee continued public access to recreational areas and avoid exclusivity or restrictions that marginalize Belizean users."
Sabido concludes that the the proposal submitted by Selva Conservation, quote, "is significantly flawed."He notes what e calls "Its lack of credible sourcing and its numerous omissions regarding crucial operational and strategic details raise serious concerns about its viability and potential impact on the MPRFR."
He says, damningly, there is an "absence of evidence undermines the proposal's credibility and raises concerns about the validity of its conclusions and recommendations. It is as if the proponent has fabricated information, failing to ground their arguments in established facts or research."
In his summary he adds that the proposal "lacks essential information regarding the concession period being sought, a detailed investment plan, and measures and standards to ensure visitor security and safety."
Later he also notes that it fails to detail a clear benefit-sharing mechanism that would ensure local communities and other stakeholders benefit from tourism revenue, warning this could signal exclusivity.
He urges the ministry to engage other ministries and agencies to help guide them.
Again, the Minister doesn't seem to be on the same page - he sees it as an opportunity - even if he only knows it superficially:
Orlando Habet, Minister of Sustainable Development:
"There is a request but I don't have the details, I haven't seen it but I just know that a request was made. But from the stand point of the Forest Department, from government's side is that we are looking to see how we can get investors to go in, not only in the Mountain Pine Ridge or elsewhere, where there is potential for tourism so that then you can increase the number of visitor sites. Because what we are seeing currently and during the years of Covid we realized that there are certain sites that were being over populated. And in conversation with the ministry of tourism we realized that if we are going to increase tourism then we have to open up more visitor sites so we can reduce the pressure on the current ones."
