Forestry and Coast Guard officers have joined forces to promote the Greening Belize initiative through a mangrove restoration activity at the Coast Guard headquarters this morning. They went down to the shoreline to plant some mangroves, and we stopped in to learn more about why they took an interest in guarding the coast in this most literal sense. Jomarie Lanza has this story:
As Coast Guardsmen, they are not solely protectors of the sea, but also protectors of the coast and the environment. Today, a handful of officers got their hands dirty and pitched in to assist in restoring the mangrove habitat here at their headquarters.
In 2020, Belize signed an agreement with the United Nations Climate Change Committee to plant mangroves to mitigate climate change, and the Coast Guard has decided to do its part in collaboration with the Forestry Department.
Mercedes Valdez, Forest Officer, Forestry Department
"So we came and we presented it to them, we informed them about the regulations, they did have a lot of questions, it was a very interesting learning experience for both of us, actually the Forestry Department and Coast Guard. What transpired from that is that given they had cut some of their mangroves some time ago, they actually said, 'You know, we are noticing we do need mangroves for our coastal protection,' so they said, 'Okay, why don't we partner and do some mangrove planting in these areas?' So we actually identified 3 areas in the Coast Guard base and that is what we are tackling today. So we are actually doing direct planting of red mangroves, so basically what it entails is basically getting the propagules and then just putting it there in the sand, so this morning we have gone through this process with the Coast Guard and we will be planting over 200 propagules today in these areas."
This initiative is being led by a consultant for mangrove restoration who has spent the last 12 years planting them in Belize. He says that the process requires continuous planting in order to achieve success in certain areas. We asked him why the Coast Guard's involvement is crucial to saving the mangroves near their coastline:
David Hilmy, Conservation Biologist
"They protect the coast, and it is not just a military setup, it can also be a little bit of conservation, and I understand that they just got a new marine science division here as part of the Coast Guard, so this is perfectly within their remit to start doing some mangrove restoration."
"But it is a long term thing and with projects like this, they are going to have to come in and keep monitoring. We are going to lose some of these propagules that we planted, there will be a storm or some kind of problem, someone will tread on them or something, so it is a continuous cycle of coming back, planting more, planting more, and then in a few years, you've built up this population that starts doing the job that we do here."
Lieutenant Commander David Ayala, who got his officers involved in the initiative, says that they decided to get involved after observing World Mangrove Day, which was celebrated on July 26th:
David Ayala, Lieutenant Commander, Belize Coast Guard
"We have seen that some of our areas here at the Belize Coast Guard headquarters had, you know, lost some of the mangroves, and an assessment was done, and so they determined that there is a way that we can collaborate to restore those mangroves."
"You know, some of the times manpower is always an issue, and some government agencies don't have enough manpower, and so it also helps with educating within the Coast Guard members that they become aware of the importance of these ecosystems, and so having them do it on themselves helps to bring awareness, education, so we can spread that across the organization."
