Belize Territorial Volunteers Demand Action Over Illegal Road in Chiquibul National Park

The Belize Territorial Volunteers is calling on all environmental stakeholders to take tangible action following the discovery of the illegal road stretching from Guatemala into the Chiquibul National Park. The road was discovered by Friends of Conservation and Development (FCD). During a routine flyover of the Chiquibul at the end of February. BTV Leader Wil Maheia says that he does not feel government departments and NGOs are responding with the level of urgency that the situation requires.

The road originates from the village of El Naranjon in the Municipality of Dolores, Peten, and extends some one-point-four kilometers into the Chiquibul. Executive Director of the FCD, Rafael Manzanero, says that it was easy for the Guatemalans to push the road into the Chiquibul, because the area had been previously cleared for illegal activities within the protected area.