At 9:10 this morning, representatives of the Belize Coalition to Save Our Natural Heritage handed over to the Office of Governor General, Sir Colville Young, in Belmopan, boxes of petitions bearing more than 18,000 signatures, putting “in train” the process intended to trigger a national referendum on offshore drilling early next year.
Audrey Matura-Shepherd, vice president of Oceana in Belize, one of over 40 Coalition members, said that Prime Minister Dean Barrow had made it clear in a recent correspondence from his secretary to Major Lloyd Jones, the former executive director of the Belize Tourism Industry Association – the current chair of the Coalition, that the Coalition ought to proceed with the referendum process, while the government would proceed with its work through the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment.
That was the last straw, said Matura-Shepherd. She said that the Coalition was really hoping for dialogue—but that never happened.
With the petitions now delivered to the Governor General, said Matura-Shepherd, people have a legitimate expectation that the government will hold the referendum.
“We’re in time for March 7, 2011…” she added. “There is no excuse for the government not to hold the referendum.”
At his recent quarterly press conference, Barrow, in commenting on the Coalition’s delay to trigger the referendum, said that if the Coalition is waiting to time the referendum with the elections, that it may get “huffed.”
The proposed question submitted to the G-G for the national referendum is: “Do you agree to petroleum exploration and drilling offshore and in its protected areas?” Voters would be asked to reply “YES” or “NO”.
Geovanni Brackett, representative of Citizens Organized for Liberty Action (COLA), said at this morning’s announcement, that the Coalition stands strong in this pursuit.
BTIA was represented by its new executive director, Efriam Perez, who sat at the head table.
Also present at the event was Edilberto Romero, chairman of the Association of Protected Areas Managers (APAMO).
Speaking with Amandala in a subsequent interview, Romero explained that the decision to exclude onshore protected areas “was based on the fact that in Belize, if you look at it, people do not really appreciate protected areas. It would have been a huge risk to include onshore protected areas in the referendum.”
Amandala has put two questions to our online poll on the issue of the referendum:
The first asked: Should the Government of Belize allow oil exploration inside protected areas? The final results signaled an 86% NO vote.
We also asked: Do you think that the proposed referendum on petroleum exploration should ask only about offshore drilling and not drilling in protected areas? In the final results, 64% said NO – the question should not just address offshore drilling, but should also address drilling inside protected areas.
Romero told Amandala that there are currently laws on the protection of onshore protected areas.
APAMO and the rest of the Coalition are also reviewing a draft zoning plan being put together by the Geology and Petroleum Department (See story elsewhere in this issue of Amandala), but APAMO has some concerns that the zoning is very subjective and not scientific enough.
As an example, Romero said that it proposes to make the Corozal Bay, which includes the Corozal Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, off-limit, while it proposes to permit drilling at three of Belize’s priceless atolls—the most sensitive being Turneffe.
“Marine experts could tell you why [these atolls] are so important,” said Romero, pointing to assets such as the elaborate arrangement of corals, which make them very vital to sustaining marine life.
He said that APAMO plans to share its views on the zoning proposal after the review of the draft.