7 News Belize

Ya'axche Opposes Coalition Referendum
posted (December 7, 2011)
Tomorrow morning at the Radisson, The Belize Coalition To Save Our National Heritage will trigger the referendum on oil drilling in marine and terrestrial protected areas.

But there is dissent from one notable objector. The Ya'xche Conservation Trust in The Toledo District resigned from the Coalition - and its director Lisel Alamilla is now publicly criticizing the triggering of a referendum.

Now Ya'axche is only one member out a coalition of many organizations - but very few of those organizations have the track record or the conservation credentials of Ya'axche has been around for 12 years and co-manages the 100,000 thousand acre Bladen Nature Reserve.

And Ya'axche feels that triggering the referendum on oil exploration seriously short changes their conservation efforts:

Lisel Alamilla - Executive Director, Ya'axche Conservation Trust
"The Coalition is proceeding with triggering a referendum despite disagreements, without a unified voice, and really it's time. Tomorrow, apparently, they're going to go ahead with this, it is very concerning. Well, Jules, I've taken a long time to speak up, because I was hoping that we could internally dialog and reach an understanding on it. In this case, I think that this decision is, in fact, undermine the nation on many areas locally. Jules, it's one thing to advocate for sustainable development issues; it's another thing to be on the ground, in the trenches clogging away at these issues. We resigned from the Coalition because we felt that we were not being heard. At the many instances, it was being hijacked, and there were people who had agendas that were not clearly, in our opinion, in the best interests of protected areas. Ya'axche felt that, being a member of APAMO, that it still had a voice and an opportunity to influence them. So we remain a member of APAMO, and APAMO also resigned as members of the executive committee, because we didn't feel that it was - that the dialog was proceeding in a manner that was positive."

Jules Vasquez
"Speaking very specifically about APAMO, they have abstained from voting."

Lisel Alamilla
"APAMO made a decision a while ago, that it would not support a referendum until there was a poll that was convincing that we would win such a move. A poll has not been done, and so I am very disappointed, really, that we have proceeded without being convinced that this is just - and people making kinds of decisions, and I spoke to my friend and this is what I am hearing. But, you know what, I don't know who they're speaking with, but the people I'm speaking with are not really remotely interested in this issue yet, or are far removed from it. Perhaps, the circles in which people in Belize City are moving are different from the circles in which Ya'axche is moving and functioning in. The Coalition has only been around for a year. I think it's too ambitious to think that we are ready to trigger a referendum, and it's not legally binding. You might get the results of people saying, 'No to oil offshore', but after you get that 'no', what do you do with that no?"

Jules Vasquez
"If you win, the Government has the option of ignoring the outcome of the referendum, and if you lose, then the Government can say, 'we have carte blanche to drill at will.'"

Lisel Alamilla
"Exactly, and that's exactly what I am saying, it's not a win-win situation, anyway I look at it. I don't see how to come out on top of it. And I think that because people have not been involved, they think that this issue exists in a vacuum. There are so many other things that we are juggling in the conservation community, and it's putting a lot of these issues at risk. And I am not convinced that we are battle-ready, that we have demonstrated that the Coalition has the might to take on Government."

APAMO- which is the largest conservation umbrella group - abstained when it was time to vote to trigger the referendum.

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