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APAMO, Right Back At Hon. Alamilla
posted (July 29, 2013)
Last week you say Minister of Forestry and Fisheries Lisel Alamilla answer her critics at APAMO. Well today, they fired back at her. Now we don't usually do, he said, she said, and then he said again, but that's what it's turned into in this case – and APAMO did add something new to the mix – they brought out protected area managers who are resisting.

Edilberto Romero - Chairman, APAMO
"After 2006, oil exploration became the largest threat to protective areas, by her actions and inactions, today; we think Minister Alamilla is the largest threat to protective areas, especially if she goes preventing organizations from doing their work to protect the protected areas."








Raymond Reneau - Rancho Dolores, Spanish Creek Wildlife Sactuary
"The reason why I didn't sign the co-management agreement is because of the third party, part under licenses, says the that 'after consultation with the co-managers, the government which is the regulatory agency body can give license to a third party' - it didn't say for what purposes. A co-management agreement should be between two bodies agreeing, with what should be done, it shouldn't be, 'you tell me what to do', it's like I'm working for you. If it comes to signing, I will sign but I am letting everyone know that the part I don't like with this signing."





Marcial Alamina, President - Swallow Caye Wildlife Sanctuary
"This is not a co-management agreement - they are telling us this is co-management, my buddy here is saying, you shoot across but how can you say that they are forcing him to sign, it's big people, how do you know it's because they need the money. These reserves and sanctuaries depend on funding, and they use PACT as, 'if you don't sign it, you can't get money from PACT'. It's like working for a regulatory agency, period, and they can come in and say, 'you are not doing this right' and who is the judge of that, this is supposed to be a democracy."

Edilberto Romero
"But she is insistent in that it is final, and it has to be signed or you're out and so she has been calling on co-managers, one by one, and we think it's a divide and conquer tactic; of course, the government has the final say in this thing and so all we can do at this point, is make sure that the public is clear as to where it is right now. And we are saying here that some decisions that are being made and some actions that are not being made, is affecting, and will affect the protected areas, that is what we're saying. At the end the government will decide what to do and yes, they have authority but we have a say also."

Four of APAMO's 11 members have signed the new CO-MANAGEMENT agreements.

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