Stakeholders in the Belize New River area have called on authorities and community members to act to address the deplorable state of the New River. The ongoing eutrophication of the New River has been a matter of public concern for some years.
In response to the recent surfacing of large numbers of dead fish at the river, Julio Mas, representative of Friends of the New River (FNR), said, “We’re here signaling an early warning that the fish kills have begun, which could potentially lead to the eutrophication of the river, reminding us of that big stench that we had in climate in 2019. As such, we are here as FNR gardens to ensure that the authorities are aware of what is happening and that they start activating the New River Task Force as early as possible so that we can monitor what is occurring on the river. And also we also call upon the community members to do their part. If you see anything, you see any fish kills or you see anybody dumping anything on the river, please report it to the local authorities immediately so that corrective actions can be taken.”
Friends of the New River claim that they are currently developing projects to install better monitoring and management systems at the river. Mas stated, “I think it’s time to move from pen and paper to start actually doing activities on the ground. And so I’m happy to see that we have very young community members being involved, because this issue cannot be solved by one generation. We have to work together with the future generations to ensure that we can have a river that we all enjoy.”
“The work of protecting the river is a continuous activity,” said Mas. “We need to be vigilant even when the river is not smelling bad. For us, it is very important that we start the recovery process for the New River,” he added.
Following the expressions of concern, an ECO-Hearts member reached out to the Department of Environment (DOE) to run tests that may find a probable cause of the fish kills. According to the DOE, experts claim that fish kills are to a large extent caused by the rise in temperature at different points of the river. While recognizing that temperature spikes are a key factor in the recent fish kills, the Eco-Hearts member who conducted the test asserted that this is not the sole factor. She stated, “That is only one factor. The different discharges of the drainages going in has also affected this river. For years this problem has been continuing.”
“We want to work with the government, the businesses, the different NGOs to try to find a long-term solution and actually do something for the river, because for many years nothing has been done and we want to find a solution. Anyone who wants to collaborate, join with us to monitor the problem. We’re going to try to find what is causing all this… I know we could work together and have a long-term solution for the river. And we can make a difference,” the ECO-Hearts representative said.