BELIZE CITY, Wed. May 4, 2022
The erosion of islands and coastal areas in Belize and across small island states all over the region has been a daunting and ever-present reality for residents living and making a living in those pristine locations. In Belize, over the holiday weekend, the residents of Placencia took it into their hands to save the last public, but ever-shrinking island, Silk Caye, in their locality from being completely submerged in the Caribbean sea as a result of unrelenting erosion in the area. Southern Silk Caye is the last of three islands that have been severely impacted by erosion in the area, and although this island remains in existence while the other two have virtually disappeared, it has lost a vast chunk of its land mass and fauna since 2010.
Over the course of two days of intense voluntary work, however, almost 250 residents of the area and tourism stakeholders from Placencia lent their labor to the construction of an 135-foot wall barricading what remains of the island from the constant, battering waves of the sea. This effort, however, spearheaded by Eworth Garbutt, a career fisher and tour guide, was met with opposition from the Fisheries Department and the Belize Coast Gaurd, who were called upon to put a stop to the works.
“Over the weekend, we were contacted by the Fisheries Department on Saturday, the 30th of April, to conduct an operation in support of Fisheries at Silk Caye. The mission was to deliver a message to some individuals that were out there doing some groundwork at Silk Caye. When we arrived at that location we found about 25 to 30 persons at that location with about 10 to 12 boats,” Rear Admiral Elton Bennett of the Coast Guard told local media in an interview yesterday.
When the Coast Gaurd arrived, they found those persons doing the groundwork for the construction of the sea wall to prevent further erosion.
“They had materials, construction material, they had beach sand, they had cement mixer at that location, and they were prepared to do some reclamation of the beach, and we delivered that message on behalf of the Fisheries Department, and we advised them to cease what they are doing. Those individuals continued. They expressed the urgent need of getting that beach in a position where it would not further deteriorate or further erode. We did what we could have done on that day; the following day the count increased,” Bennett noted.
Approximately 200 persons were on Silk Caye on the next day, Sunday, all working on the construction of the wall to prevent the further erosion of the beach. The Coast Guard, however, in attempting to arrest persons, had to stand down in an effort to prevent the escalation of the situation into a large confrontation.
“We attempted to arrest those individuals; from what I gather from the Patrol Commander on the ground, it could have escalated into a situation that we did not want. The patrol commander was very, very smart, in terms of dialoguing with those individuals and dragging that process out. Following on from there, we arrested and charged two individuals that were there at the location; that occurred in Placencia yesterday, and so the Fisheries Department will now follow through in terms of prosecuting those cases against those individuals that were in violation,” Bennett said.
According to the Rear Admiral, the persons engaged in the work were in contravention of Regulation 15(1) of the Fisheries Act, Revised Edition 2000.
“That requires any individual who would be constructing or doing any beach work in a marine reserve to go through the procedures to get the approval from the Fisheries Department, who also have to get an EIA done from the Department of the Environment; that procedure was not followed,” Bennett said.
Eworth Garbutt and one other person have since been charged for the violations, and Bennett says they will try to arrest and charge as many of those persons who were involved as they can.
Garbutt told local reporters that their response to the erosion of the last remaining Silk Caye was not a knee-jerk one, but that it had been planned, and that they had assessed the situation extensively before acting. Following his arrest, and after he had contacted an attorney, Garbutt told local media about what has so far been accomplished.
“I finished phase 1, which will be making a brick wall of 135 feet. It’s unprecedented, and nothing like that ever done in the country, and I am assuring you, even in the world, with zero machine,” he said.
He then commented on the swift, and seemingly severe, response of the authorities:
“… I have never seen the Coast Guard reacted so quick to something yet. We have had infractions going on left and right where people are dredging here and doing other things, but when it’s for community, all of a sudden…. But for me, I know what I did. I didn’t do anything against the law, as far as what I was made to understand — dredging and filling — two different scenario there. Because this thing is so environmentally friendly; we are using the same biodegradable stuff, the old trees, the coconut,” he said.
He further noted that the situation is a crisis that had to be addressed right away. He told 7News’ Jules Vasquez, “Jules, this is a state of emergency. I live in a country of laws and rules and regulations, and I have always never violated them and never will.”
Admiral Elton Bennett, Commandant of the Belize Coast Guard, however, commented that there are plans to address the erosion at Silk Caye, but that studies must be done to ensure that any effort to address the problem does not harm the surrounding environment or eco-system. “I know that the Silk Caye Marine Reserve is very, very important for Belize, in terms of tourism, in terms of fisheries, and in terms of just maintaining a pristine marine environment for Belizeans. And I am aware that the Fisheries Department and the Blue Economy [Ministry] are very interested in doing some work on the island. They just want to ensure that what material goes out there does not impact or throw off the ecosystem, and that level of work done on the island is done properly in terms of getting an Environmental Impact Assessment done. So, you can know what type of material, and where best to put those materials. So that’s the procedure that we want to follow,” he said.
In regard to such planning, however, Garbutt remarked, “While they are doing studies, we have seen the result. That’s the beautiful thing about studies; that’s why I use the analysis of someone being on an emergency needing a surgery. We see the next one side of this one already died. The middle Silk Caye have died, and now we have out one coming next from 10 coconut trees, it’s at 3 right now. So while they are studying, I am studying what is happening right now. They will study until we die; that’s all they will do—study, study and nothing will come out of their study. It’s just while they study, we are dying.”
He further commented, “…I think a lot of people feel threatened because, imagine what takes you to do in 10 years with millions of dollars, this community will end up doing it in 2 weekends. We have done halfway through in one weekend, and we are not asking the government for a dollar. How could you compare quality a product if you give a contract to two different person, one for profit and one because your life depend on it … all chips are in for this job to get it right. When it comes to the standard of that breakwall is, it wasn’t bypassed, any dollar wasn’t cut. We actually went—they say they need the Geotech, it’s like a blanket; instead of putting one, we put 4.”
For now, the structure created by the residents of Placencia to prevent the further erosion of Silk Caye is by all indications still standing. These mitigation efforts to stem the tide of erosion across small island developing states are becoming more prevalent, as the impacts of climate change drive rising sea levels, erosion, and catastrophic events that tear away at these vulnerable landmasses.
A release issued by the Belize Fisheries Department yesterday noted that the reclamation work, while valiant, was being carried out in a high-biodiversity conservation zone — the conservation zone of the Gladden Spit and Silk Cayes Marine Reserve (GSSCMR). These protected areas are currently managed by the Fisheries Department and Southern Environmental Association (SEA).
The release states, “The Fisheries Department hereby emphatically expresses its concern over the activities that transpired. Fully cognizant of the urgent actions needed to counter the impacts of climate change to this and other islands within the Marine Protected Areas Systems, the department has been working with its co-managers to address these threats in a manner that is strategic and environmentally safe. ”
Additionally, the release noted, “This most recent case is of special concern because the site being altered is within a high biodiversity Conservation Zone where only non-extractive use is allowed. Furthermore, any activity to be conducted within a marine reserve requires a license or authorization in accordance with Sub-Sections 15 (1) (b), (c), (d) and Section 16 of the Fisheries Resources Act, Revised Edition, 2020 (Documents – Fisheries Department). The Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations also requires that for Schedule I projects such as the above, an Environmental Impact Assessment be completed.”