Chaa Creek Hails Belize
Ocean Heroes
More people making a difference in Belize!
“Heroes are Hard to Find” is not only the name of that great Fleetwood Mac album, it can also be an unfortunate fact of life.
But not, apparently in Belize, where two “Ocean Heroes” were acknowledged by international ocean environmental group Oceana at a ceremony held in Belize City September 27 2014.
Coral researcher Lisa Carne and manatee saviour Jamal Galvez, who we’ve written about before, were singled out by Oceana as two people who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to help preserve Belize’s stunning sea life and maritime environment.
Ms Carne received her gong for her “Fragments of Hope” project. With the assistance of fishermen and tour guides from the villages of Placencia and Independence, she established a coral nursery at Laughing Bird Caye National Park as a natural laboratory in a bid to save endangered Acropora corals. To date, the project has resulted in some 5,000 out-plants established in 18 different sites.
Having personally witnessed the degradation of corals on Belize’s Great Barrier Reef over the years, we know how important re-establishing these critical components of the eco system is, and want to lend our hands to the applause Ms Carne so richly deserves.
The other hero Oceana identified is Jamal Galvez, the best friend manatees ever had. Our regular readers would be familiar with Jamal and his lifelong passion for protecting Belize’s iconic “sea cows”, as the gently grazing, slow moving manatees are known (“Spotlight on Another Belizean Eco Hero” August 7 2014).
Growing up in the picturesque village of Gales Point Manatee, Jamal become fascinated watching researchers study and tag manatees. Self-described as “just that kid trying to save manatees” He began volunteering on the research boats and now, as the Belize Manatee Project Program Coordinator, he has become the saviour, nurse, advocate and defender of endangered manatees, collecting young orphans and strays and then nursing them back to health and maturity at the project’s centre.
While manatees no longer have many predators, now that hunting the sea cows for food has, for the most part, become taboo, they are increasingly at risk from accidental propeller strikes from the increased boat traffic in inland waters. Another of Jamal’s many tasks is to educate the public as to the importance of restricted and “go slow” zones.
Oceana, a global non-profit organisation, has been a very good friend to Belize, having worked with local groups to help ban destructive bottom trawling and joining the fight against oil drilling on the Belize Great Barrier Reef. And with a membership that reads like a Hollywood A list, with actors Morgan Freeman, Nicolas Cage, Cameron Diaz, Harrison Ford, recent visitor Kate Walsh, director James Cameron, musicians Sting and Ben Harper and many other well-known celebrities and VIPs including former US president Bill Clinton counted among more than 600,000 supporters, Oceana has expertise and clout.
They instituted the Ocean Hero award in 2009 to acknowledge people making exceptional contributions towards ocean conservation, advocacy and education.
Janelle Chanona, who is Oceana Belize’s Vice President, said “Our challenges are many but our collective passion is deep. Lisa and Jamal exemplify the type of heroism we all need to strive for. And like them, Oceana is working fervently to help consumers become informed citizens on environmental issues so that you can help to determine the quality of your future; your family’s future; Belize’s future.”
It’s always heartening to see international groups like Oceana working with our local environmental heroes to help keep Belize’s unspoiled environmental treasures pristine and viable for future generations. Chaa Creek and our Belize Natural History Centre have long held the view that eco-tourism should also have a strong environmental awareness and education component to ensure that those things that make Belize special will be here for generations to come.
And in that spirit, we say,
Congratulations, and Thanks Lisa and Jamal!
You are true heroes!
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