APAMO Raises Concerns Over Development Near Protected Areas

While the FCD is concerned about the roads leading from Guatemala into protected areas, the Association of Protected Areas Management Organizations (APAMO) is more concerned about local developments. Executive Director of APAMO, Jose Perez, explained that the government is granting concessions for entities to conduct development works near protected areas; however, he does not feel the environmental impact is adequately considered. He said that developments too close to protected areas open the possibility of roads into these areas being built by locals and foreigners.

Jose Perez, Executive Director, APAMO: “These occurrences are not only occurring on these transboundary protected areas. On the daily basis, and this is what is overlooked many times, these comanagement entities on a daily basis if it wasn’t for rangers who are constantly patrolling the boundaries of these protected areas like Mayflower Bocawina National Park which is a bit distant from the border you would have much more illegal incursions in the parks for timber extraction and for hunting. Again what we see is concessions being given by the respective government offices for concessions right next to protected areas boundaries and that is something that we’d really like government to reflect on because what that is doing is that it facilitates incursions into protected areas. What we see are squatters now. What we see are  – people need where to live but if it is not stopped now and again I always say this in Belize because a significant proportion is seemingly protected and green we get the illusion that it is endless or limitless and that is not so. We have to recognize that Belize is a small country and the tourism base for example the bloodline for a tourism product or sector is our natural resources. So when we have developments right next to our protected areas.”

Perez added that the government should treat the issue of illegal roads in protected areas as a high-priority issue and act as quickly as possible.