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Eden Garcia, UB - Ph.D researcher
"I have been out here in Turneffe since 1996. I have seen from a very green place to these islands completely covered with vegetation to many of these islands now having some really some very large infrastructure."

Jules Vasquez reporting
And it gets no larger than this. If you're into towering slabs of glass and concrete - this promotional video of Sir Hakimi's Dive Haven should hit the spot.

But this is Ropewalk Caye in the Turneffe, and when we went there, it stuck out like a sore thumb - a pristine environment, juxtaposed against a glowering monument to "mega".

Dale Fairweather who has fished these waters for nearly three decades, says this 100 room resort has come at a great cost to the low lying island and the Marin habitat which surrounds it:

Dale Fairweather, full time fisherman
"The impact that it had on my fishing around there is that you don't catch any lobster and conch anymore in that immediate area. A little bit to the north and south you catch, but the reef right in front of that property is next to dead."

Eden Garcia, UB - Ph.D. researcher
"They have to spend more time out in the reef searching for conch, looking for lobsters. Its more effort that they have to put in and possibly because of all these changes that are occurring within the habitat where all these species use to reside and the quality of the environment is no longer. We are not maintaining the environment health."

And that's the concern for the Turneffe Atoll Trust. It's a non-profit group driving conservation efforts at the Turneffe Atoll:

Alex Anderson, Exec. Dir - Turneffe Atoll Trust
"It's known as Hakimi's Dive Haven and that project started in 2005 and since it started there's been a lot of different things that have happened. The first instance when the project started it was perceived to be a residential development. To date they still have not done a full impact assessment."

TAT also challenged another development that it claims had not done an EIA and won:

Alex Anderson
"On the initial onset they claimed that it was a residential development. They did not go through the EIA process and they started just development with an ECP and so we filed a lawsuit and the end of the lawsuit the judge basically said look you guys need to follow your own law, I hope this organization is taking you to court to tell you to follow your own law and it basically set the precedence that for any development here at Turneffe, it is required that a full fledge EIA be conducted."

Turneffe Flats - one fo the first developments on the Atoll has followed an environmentally sound approach to its development. Now, the owner is also the founder of the Trust - so, we weren't surprised when they led the press tour to him as an exemplar of all that is virtuous:

Craig Hayes, Turneffe Flats
"I think that Turneffe has a tremendous economic value which is totally dependent on a healthy environment."

And, while there may be differences about how best to safeguard the environment, no one will argue that it matters more than any hulking concrete structure:

Eden Garcia, UB - Ph.D researcher
"Not everyone is aware how important these environments are in particular the marine environment. It's very important not only for the health of the fish or the reef, but it's also important for the health of the people and the people who depend on these resources. Once these resources are depleted then we will be in trouble."

Valentino Shal
"The idea here is to put the spotlight on Turneffe so that we can ensure that unsustainable activities are reduced or eliminate all together, because it is possible. The rules are there, people need to follow it."

Dale Fairweather, full time fisherman
"I think what's going to happen eventually is that due to the way things are going in Belize, it will get to a point where they'd be overdevelopment, all the ecosystems are going to be damaged, fishing is going to be next to nothing because there won't be anything there for you to get. Even the tourists, nobody is going to want to come to Belize and see a dead reef."

That lesson really resonated with these UB students who went out to the Turneffe for the day to see first-hand what they have been learning about in class:

Kadeem Daniels, Natural Resource Dev.
"I've read that Turneffe Atoll is one of the most biologically diverse atoll in the western hemisphere, so it is important for us to look at sustainable development especially."

Giselle Mahung, Nat. Resources Student
"I'm being able to see the developments that are occurring in Belize. We are able to learn in theory the laws and regulations as well as be able to see how those laws and regulations are being followed as well as unfortunately in some cases how those laws and regulations are being broken by various developments throughout Belize."

We hope to have comment from Hakimi's Dive Haven tomorrow. We were unable to reach a representative today.