APAMO Urges Government Crackdown on Illegal Logging Nationwide

The Association of Protected Areas Management Organizations (APAMO) is calling on the government to take urgent action to address the issue of illegal logging in Belize. In a statement issued today, APAMO says that recent field reports show illegal logging has accelerated forest loss and undermined decades of conservation efforts. The organization is calling for a series of actions, including an immediate moratorium on the granting of new short- and long-term logging concessions, a thorough review of all active logging licenses and concessions to ensure compliance with national laws, and the revocation of licenses and concessions held by operators found to be engaged in illegal practices. APAMO notes that the urgency of the issue was highlighted by the recent clash between illegal loggers and residents of Boston Village in the Belize District. The village chairman, Nikolai Alvarado, went with police officers to confront illegal loggers; however, their efforts were reportedly hampered by political interference. Belize Rural North Area Representative Marconi Leal Junior says that the Forest Department had addressed the issue in Boston and will be closely monitoring the situation going forward.

Marconi Leal Jr, Belize Rural North Area Representative: “The chairman reached out to me, he shared his concern in regards to the logging that was taking place and so the morning I went out there to see what was taking place and so we’re happy that now that has been addressed by the Forestry Department. I think over the past few years and me supporting my dad who was the previous area rep to twenty three villages we haven’t seen much licenses being issued but when it is issued we always want to get visibility so that we can ensure that the Forestry Department is out there and we’re aware of what they got approval for so that they don’t infringe in other properties near to that because they’re in the bushes, they’re in the deep bushes and we want to ensure that private properties aren’t affected. And in this case the chairman highlighted that there’s potential impact to private property outside of what they got approved and so that is what the chairman was looking at yesterday to try to ensure that we manage that and we try to maximize Forestry Department being out involved to ensure that they do what their license is approved to do.”

APAMO commended the Boston Village Council for taking a stand and said that its member organizations remain committed in the fight against illegal logging.