“Drill they will.”
Prime Minister Dean Barrow told the media in February that the government will not change its position that it will permit drilling for oil in Toledo, inside the Sarstoon-Temash National Park, one of Belize’s onshore protected areas.
That declaration by the Prime Minister has sparked a summit in the south, at which the Sarstoon Temash Institute for Indigenous Management (SATIIM), the organization which co-manages the national park, has issued a national call on Belizeans across the country to join in the fight to save the Sarstoon-Temash National Park (STNP) from drilling by US Capital Energy.
“The battleground is in Toledo. What happens in Toledo will determine what happens in the rest of the country, so if we do nothing, they will run over everybody in this country; if we stand up and there is a collision, obviously there will be collision up north as well,” said SATIIM executive director, Greg Ch’oc, at the conclusion of the two-day summit.
“Before we drill, we must have a guarantee that each and every Belizean will benefit. We must be confident that the wealth generated will reach every family in Belize. Only then should we be willing to sacrifice our national resources,” Ch’oc added.
He indicated that civil disobedience would not be ruled out, but the people would only pursue that route if they believe that it is the only option they have, and if they are confident that their rights are being violated.
Ch’oc did not stand alone. Roughly three hundred Belizeans, mostly residents of Toledo and non-government organizations, met at the Father Ring Parish Hall in Punta Gorda Town on Tuesday and Wednesday, March 8 and 9, where they collectively drafted The People’s Position Paper, laying out their primary concerns with the current landscape of the petroleum industry in Belize, and calling on the government to take specific actions to address what they believe are serious problems of inequity and injustice.
The summit, which was also led by the Belize Coalition to Save Our Natural Heritage and the Association of Protected Areas Management Organizations, was especially targeted at leaders of Toledo, including those of the Maya villages.
Amandala asked Ch’oc to indulge us with an exercise to poll the leaders in attendance to document where they stand on the People’s Position Paper, which, said Ch’oc, will be delivered to the office of US Capital in Punta Gorda, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, Prime Minister Dean Barrow and the National Assembly.
Roughly 35 leaders, including two women, responded to our call to identify themselves and congregated at the front of the meeting hall. By a show of hands, virtually all said they fully support the People’s Position Paper.
In fact, only one man put his hand up, signaling that he did not endorse the position paper.
At the closing of the summit, Ch’oc reiterated SATIIM’s position that there should be no drilling inside the STNP, or any of the protected areas; neither should there be drilling in offshore Belize.
The decision by Cabinet this week to endorse the granting of a petroleum concession in Orange Walk to Maranco signals that the government has remained firm in its position that it will not impose a ban against drilling inside protected areas. The concession area, according to the Belize Coalition to Save Our Natural Heritage and the Association for Protected Areas Management Organizations (APAMO), includes the Rio Bravo Conservation Area, managed by Programme for Belize.
What the people want
The position paper, read by Mario Chub of Santa Teresa, covers the concerns of attending organizations and communities on human rights, environmental issues, economic equity and the rule of law.
They stress the right of communities to their “free, prior and informed consent,” and shun any attempt at spreading misinformation and employing divide-and-conquer strategies in their communities.
They also note that the watersheds, important to sustain life, are already suffering negative impacts, and they fear that the pollution and contamination that are associated with oil development will make matters worse for them.
The document put heavy emphasis on economic equity. It said that in the event that communities decide in favor of oil development, “All communities should have the full and effective participation in ALL negotiations of ALL oil development contracts.”
It also calls for a “petroleum community trust fund,” to which companies should contribute as soon as they enter into contracts with the government and which should be boosted with even more funds when commercial production starts. That fund, they say, should be managed by the communities of Toledo for the people of the district so that they could use it for health, education and environment initiatives.
They also call on the government to guarantee a quota of local employment for communities in Toledo during all stages of work—from the time they begin to explore for oil to the time they begin to produce for sale.
The summit attendees also say that the government should guarantee from the outset of the contract that there is training and education for locals, so that they can meaningfully participate in the industry.
Also, they ask the government to ensure that communities are promptly compensated for any damage that affects their traditional livelihoods and way of life.
They are also asking for an amendment to the existing petroleum contracts to provide a greater share of revenues to communities and the government. It is a request that the Belizean public has been making for years—a request to which the government has so far not acceded, indicating that it cannot go back and change contracts that were legally sealed.
The position paper also says that there must be strong penalties under the Petroleum Act for non-compliance and that, “Oil companies must be held responsible for inevitable mistakes.”
Additionally, it says: “We call for the Belize Constitution to be amended to include provisions for the right to a clean and healthy environment.”
The position paper concludes saying that “this is only the beginning of the conversation…”
SATIIM to GOB
SATIIM has presented a 13-page position paper as well. In that paper it calls on Government to initiate a moratorium on oil exploration and development in fragile areas, including protected areas and offshore, along the barrier reef.
It furthermore calls on the government to develop a set of laws and policies for a national energy transition into a system based on sustainable, clean and long-term energy solutions.
It calls on the government to “eliminate all oil activities on indigenous lands and territories,” and to seek the way forward, in conjunction with these peoples, to implement the 2007 Supreme Court ruling that recognized and reaffirmed the land rights of the indigenous peoples of Southern Belize.
There is the question of how much of the royalties, if any, would be paid to the Maya of Toledo. Ch’oc noted that the Maya of Toledo are said to not be titleholders, and have been characterized (by Government) as squatters on national lands.
SATIIM also asks the government to ensure that communities’ input is fully taken into account, to guarantee their full and effective participation in the development of a “greener” economy (one which causes minimal environmental harm and looks at alternative sources of energy, organic produce, etc.) for the future of Belize.
The organization stresses that economic equity, environmental justice and respect for human rights must be the fundamental tenets for the industry going forward.
SATIIM takes the position that permitting drilling in the park is ultra vires (contrary to the provisions of) the National Park System Act and is, therefore, illegal.
It also says that drilling in Maya lands would be contrary to the 2007 Supreme Court decision by former Chief Justice Abdulai Conteh, who had issued an injunction prohibiting the government from giving oil concessions on lands of Maya villages without their free, prior and informed consent.
“We have not seen a concrete plan for using oil revenues to reduce Belize’s skyrocketing fuel and electricity costs; nor do we have evidence that this revenue will be used to develop national resources, promote education, improve health or fight crime and poverty,” said Ch’oc. “Without these guarantees, set in a vision of Belize’s future growth, we at SATIIM do not feel there can be any assurance that Belizeans will benefit from oil extraction.”
Other summit attendees weigh in
Audrey Matura-Shepherd, vice president of Oceana and co-chair of the Belize Coalition to Save Our Natural Heritage, said, in response to a question from 7 News’ Jules Vasquez about the possible bias in the summit that, “It is clear that there are some people who are neutral, some people who oppose and some people who are for. The idea of getting the declaration is to find the common grounds on which people agree…”
Glenn Hines of PG TV, said, “You recall the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and how it affected the United States of America. Once we have an oil spill, how will it impact Belize? Have we done a cost- benefit analysis of the matter? Would it benefit the Toledo District and by extension, the nation more, if oil is found…”
Referring to Mr. Barrow’s “drill they will” comments, Ch’oc said, “What happened over the last two days here fortified my belief that as a Belizean people that we will not give credibility to those statements; that we will summon the courage and determination to once more take back our country, to once more be a part of this country, to play our part as Belizeans, to define our future.”
Under the existing government policy, the entire country of Belize can be issued in petroleum concessions, with no zone being off-limits. Virtually all available concession areas have been issued to nearly 20 companies, most of them foreign-owned.
(Amandala plans to have more on the summit in the next edition of the newspaper.)