Belize City, April 23, 2008 - Hon. Edmond “Clear The Land” Castro is still under heavy fire from environmental watchdogs for undertaking, without proper consultation nor clearance, a project in the Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary, that has seen the clearing of over 700 yards of an internationally and national recognized wetland area.

The Association of Protected Areas Management Organization (APAMO) was the most-recent to speak out against the unauthorized project carried out by Hon. Castro.

  Castro is in hot water

“APAMO understands that the current development activities occurring in the Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary (CTWS) were being carried out without going through the due process of obtaining the necessary permits from the Forest Department and the Department of the Environment”, states a release issued this week.

APAMO also expressed concern that and held that such project could “the necessary plans and studies/assessments were not done to determine the impacts of such development on both the people of Crooked Tree and the environment of the Wildlife Sanctuary”“significantly alter the environment” in an area that plays a unique role to mediate flooding for the Belize City and Belize River Valley areas.

APAMO is only the second environmental watchdog to express concern over the project in Crooked Tree.

The Belize Audubon Society (BAS) was the first to take note of the project, after Hon. Castro had been showing a televised ad for several weeks, showing his bulldozers drove through a huge part of the wetland containing trees and shrubs to make way for a road.

The Audubon Society said that they were alerted to the project on Friday, April 11th after a field officer reported the matter. BAS informed the Forest Department, who then issued a stop order.

The Forest and Environment Department have concluded that neither gave Hon. Castro permission for such a project. They have visited the site to conduct a preliminary inspection. Further investigations will be carried out to assess the damages caused by the clearing of over 700 yards of the area and the impacts of those damages.

The Audubon Society pointed out last week that the wildlife sanctuary is the primary water supply source for the residents of Crooked Tree Village, which is within the Wildlife Sanctuary. In addition, the lagoons and creeks act as a water storage area during the rainy season, which is critical to minimizing flooding for the Belize River Valley and Belize City areas.

Any changes to the wetland, especially drastic changes such as that of clearing for roads or causeways, can alter the level of land and how water runs and stabilizes. This is why the environmental impact assessment was necessary.

A reliable source informed the BELIZE TIMES last week that under the laws, anyone culpable can be fined for the breach, and could be held responsible for the negative impacts. The decision to lay such a fine is, however, at the discretion of the Minister of Natural Resources.