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The Rage Over Rosario
posted (October 9, 2018)
Over the past 2 months, we've been telling you all about the Ambergris Caye Citizens for Sustainable Development. That's the grassroots organization made up of conservation minded residents of San Pedro who are doing everything they can to resist the planned development on Cayo Rosario.

That's a 10-acre island off the northwest coast of San Pedro. The pressure group is joined by environmentalists and tourism industry stakeholders who all believe that a big development planned at the island will destroy the rich natural habitat for the wildlife that call Cayo Rosario home.

The developer initially planned over 80 over-the-water structures that would make up the resort planned there. Due to the constant pressure against the project, and assessment from the Government's environmental technocrats, the developer downsized the project and the number over-the-water structures by as half. But, that's still not enough for the Ambergris Caye Citizens for Sustainable Development, who insist that the Government should never have given the green light to this project, because Cayo Rosario sits inside the Hol Chan Marine Reserve. They're maintaining their public pressure against the project, hoping to shut it down completely, and weeks ago, they found an ally in Tourism Minister Manuel Heredia Jr.

Well, on Friday, they sent out a press release noting that Daniel Guerrero, the mayor of San Pedro Town, is also in agreement with their position.

They quote the mayor in their press release as saying, "I am totally against the Cayo Rosario development, and anything that negatively affects the environment on the bay, the inner lagoons and the beachfront.".

The organization notes that in fact, Mayor Guerrero and Belize Rural South Area Representative, Manuel Heredia Jr., were a part of the initial team that spearheaded the expansion of the Hol Chan Marine Reserve to protect this very area. The organization asserts that this approved development at Cayo Rosario contradicts the very reason so many worked hard to expand the marine reserve.

Their statement says, quote, "Both the Mayor and the ACCSD agree - the island itself is private, and the developer has the right to build on their island - but the surrounding waters and seabed are part of the protected Hol Chan Marine Reserve. Mayor Daniel Guerrero and the San Pedro Town Council stand with the ACCSD recognizing that the Hol Chan Marine Reserve is one of this island's most important environmental and economic assets." End quote.





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