By Benita Keme-Palacio

Copyright greaterbelize

Ya’axche Flags Alarming Forest Destruction

Authorities are being pressed to act on what conservationists describe as “escalating illegal activities” inside the Columbia River Forest Reserve in southern Belize.

The Ya’axche Conservation Trust has sounded the alarm after its rangers joined a 10-day enforcement patrol led by the Belize Defence Force in August and found extensive illegal logging and agriculture within the reserve.

“The patrol findings document extensive illegal activities occurring in the Columbia River Forest Reserve, dominated by what appears to be organised commercial operations for the harvesting of mahogany, rosewood, nargusta, sapodilla, yemery and other timber species,” Ya’axche said in its statement on Monday.

It reported that the patrol discovered a six-kilometre road carved into the reserve, complete with five wooden bridges that facilitate the movement of vehicles and heavy machinery across the Belize-Guatemala border.

“Additionally, the patrol team documented over 100 acres of agricultural clearances used for cattle ranching, production of beans, corn, and cardamom, among other crops,” Ya’axche added. “Remote sensing data indicates approximately 450 acres of Belizean territory have been cleared for illegal agriculture in the general area of the documented activity.”

Ya’axche warned that illegal incursions in the Columbia River Forest Reserve threaten Belize’s natural resources, cause severe environmental damage, and raise national security concerns. “While commendable efforts have been made to secure the forests of the Chiquibul National Park and the Bladen Nature Reserve, it is now evident that illegal incursions have shifted southward into the Columbia River Forest Reserve, which currently lacks a year-round security presence,” the group said.

Ya’axche called on the “highest levels of government” to act swiftly to “halt the unregulated, illegal pillaging of our natural resources and the breach of our territorial sovereignty.”