Stop Oil Exploration in Indigenous Traditional Lands in Belize
A US-based oil company is poised to begin oil exploration in the Sarstoon Temash National Park (STNP) and indigenous traditional lands in southern Belize.
The park encompasses 41,000 acres of relatively undisturbed wetlands where hundreds of species of birds, tropical butterflies and animals live, including manatees, ocelots and endangered jaguars, and is home to 5 indigenous villages whose livelihoods are closely tied to the health of the Park's resources.
Oil exploration could significantly change the ecological character of the park and negatively affect the livelihoods, including potential ecotourism activities, of the indigenous Maya and Garifuna peoples living in the area.
Furthermore, oil exploration in a national park may be a violation of Belizes international treaty obligations under the Ramsar convention and the Convention on Biological Diversity and constitutes an incursion into indigenous traditional lands, violating the rights of the Maya and Garifuna communities as outlined by the Inter American Commission on Human Rights.
We ask you to help us pressure the Belizean government to exclude STNP and surrounding community lands from all seismic testing and subsequent oil drilling.
Dear Honorable Minister Briceno,
We have heard that the Ministry has granted a permit to a US corporation to conduct seismic testing in Toledo, including the Sarstoon Temash National Park (STNP) and Maya and Garifuna traditional lands. While we understand that Belize may need to pursue the development of its oil resources, we urge you to exclude the STNP and the indigenous traditional lands around the park from the seismic testing program and any subsequent oil drilling.
We know that the Government of Belize established the STNP in 1994 as a way to preserve the wetlands and globally important biodiversity of the region, and that the site was declared a wetland of international significance under the Ramsar Convention in 2005. A new ecosystem was discovered inside the park in 2003, a lowland sphagnum moss bog, which is unique to Central America, and is potentially quite fragile.
In addition to the valuable biodiversity of the park, the communities who live around the park and who have been co-managing it through the Sarstoon Temash Institute for Indigenous Management have developed an eco-tourism plan which will be undermined by oil exploration. Oil development in a community co-managed national park and Ramsar site will also set a bad precedent for Belize and make it harder for both the government and the environmental community to secure international grant funding that currently supports the management of the protected area system in Belize.
We ask you therefore to exclude the STNP and the indigenous traditional lands around the park from the seismic testing program and any subsequent oil drilling for the sake of all Belizeans and those who hope to visit this amazing park one day.
Sincerely,
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