Last week, we told you how the experts say pollution in the New River in the Orange Walk District may have some negative impacts on the Corozal Bay, since that river eventually empties into the bay.
Well, Oceana Belize is calling on Corozal residents to remain vigilant, and report signs of pollution in the Bay area.
In a press release, Oceana's Corozal Field representative says, quote, "As the polluted waters begin to move towards Corozal Bay and the Caribbean Sea, we ask all residents to immediately report any incident such as fish or mammal mortalities to all relevant authorities… Corozaleños are all too aware of the number of stressors already impacting Corozal Bay. As a community, we need to prepare for potential impacts, so that appropriate mitigation measures can be planned and deployed if necessary." End quote.
We caught up with Janelle Channona today at a handing over ceremony where OCEANA made donation to the Coast Gaurd. She discussed the river, the bay and the risks in between:
Janelle Chanona, VP, OCEANA Belize
"While we have a marine mandate, it is important for us to be taking note of whats happening in land and that certainly highlights the theory of ridge to reef - that we are all connected. Whatever happens inland ends up in the sea for us and we only need to look at the experience within the last 5 years. We saw what happened when all of that plastic and debris came out of Honduras and Guatemala from their rivers and ending up being a viral episode of what not to do and so all of this brings out our support for the plastic and Styrofoam ban and our commitments there and just generally that we are so small geographically that that has strengths and weaknesses and it certainly playing out that we need to be aware of what's happening everywhere, because we are not isolated. We will be impacted along the coast as well and we want to play a role in the effective management of our resources to make sure that the viability and the integrity of those resources can bolster everything that they do for this country. We are really and trully a nature-based economy and we have to live up to that, to take care of it."
OCEANA has also called for increased budgetary allowances to the DOE, given the importance of their role in safeguarding the health of all the country's natural resources.
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