Yesterday, we told you about OCEANA’s concerns with Cabinet’s recent approval of seismic surveying in the waters outside of the barrier reef and atolls one kilometre buffer zone. Today, Janelle Chanona, OCEANA’s country leader, visited the studio to explain why they are so concerned about the decision:

Alex Courtenay
"The Cabinet has recently approved certain, surveys. A seismic survey as well as a multi beam survey, which the OCEANA organization has taken a position on?"

Janelle Chanona - VP, OCEANA Belize
"So on Wednesday we were informed verbally and in person by both the PM and the Minister of Petroleum that Cabinet in its Tuesday meeting has approved conducting seismic surveys offshore Belize, East of the Belize Barrier reef, excluding the reef itself and one kilometre, and excluding Belize’s 3 atolls and their one kilometre basis. They would shoot seismic essentially everywhere else. Both the PM and the Minister of Petroleum pointed out that Cabinet made this decision, or came to this decision based on recommendations from the department of Environment. Therefore, OCEANA and other partner organizations have asked the department of the environment to provide us, the environmental community and concerned Belizeans for the premise, the basis or how that recommendation came into being because the information that we have seen related to seismic and even in the presentation or in a presentation from the Ministry, the Department of Petroleum, they accepted that there was significant environmental impact associated with shooting seismic. So we want to know what have they read, what have they looked at, how they came to recommend that there is no need for an Environmental Impact Assessment.â€￾

Alex Courtenay
"And is there also a fear that because seismic surveys can often be a precursor to the development of maybe oil or gas industries, which is a position that OCEANA is obviously against and many Belizeans are against, is there a fear that that might come into fruition?"

Janelle Chanona - VP, OCEANA Belize
"Well certainly, and just to frame a little bit wider; so, we were alerted to the fact that there were ships coming in to do multi beam survey work, which is a sort of high definition fish sounders, but that this was being commissioned by the inspector of Petroleum, department of petroleum, obviously it’s for Petroleum related factors. That was confirmed when any sort of scientific data or fishing management related data now has to be re-negotiated for, because that was not part of the original contract. So obviously this multi beam, was sort of a secondary component to shooting seismic and we got that confirmed in a presentation on multi beam, that regardless of what the multi beam survey presented or showed, they would still insist on shooting seismic because that would be one of the conclusive ways of doing this. As you alluded to, Belizeans have felt very strongly about offshore related oil activity for some time, and have taken very clear positions on it, but over and beyond that it has to be – any conversation about offshore oil needs to happen in the context of what it means economically for us. We know what tourism is to this country, we know what fishing is to this country, we know what our cultural identity is to this country, and it is not our position that we should be locking up resources and bonding with marine life, and you know kumbaya, this is about making about sure that we are safeguarding our economic strongholds, and safeguarding the things that make our lives possible, our jobs possible, our food possible. And that’s all we’re asking for, transparency, disclosure, consultation. So that as we go into this all of our eyes are wide open to what may be down the road." 

Chanona stresses that the purpose of OCEANA’s opposition is to simply ensure that all risks are weighed when making a decision that could negatively affect thousands of Belizeans.