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Here's what Dr. Dionne Miranda and Tourism Minister Manuel Heredia Jr. had to say about the updated EIA which was approved by the Government's Technicians.

Dr. Dionne Miranda - Chamberlain Consulting/Blackadore PR
"Our investors take Belize seriously, take the citizens of Belize very seriously and wanted to relook the concept of the over water structures and I must tell you that we are extremely excited to let you know that the investors, despite the fact that they will be seeing a difference in the economic return, have made a decision that they are willing to accept that and ensure that there will be no over water structures for sale or rent on Blackadore Caye."

"On a sustainable development side, I want to point out and push to you that a few of the main elements remain, the use of organic foods and these will be sourced locally - grown locally. So there are opportunities for employment and for economic growth for the Belizean economy as well. Zero fossil fuel use will be done on the island. There will be 100% renewable powered living. We will have composted waste systems and use of sustainable materials and every level of transportation to the island will be use to emit the lease emission possible. So there are stringent methods which will be utilized and the project will be using some of the most stringent sustainable standards in existence."

Hon. Manuel Heredia, Minister of Tourism
"These people personally have seen it, has already done tremendous amount of studies within international expertise and so forth and I believe that what they have done would really create one of the world's best resort over there. Already they were given the green light to go ahead by the DOE and these people have gone beyond what they have been asked."

Dr. Dionne Miranda - Chamberlain Consulting/Blackadore PR
"This investor is focused on integrity, on character and yes, it wants to be able to prove to the Belizean people that it means well and it does want to set a record as to what investors should look like in a country such as Belize which has highly intelligent, highly motivated, well intended people who just need to be listen to and so because of that we want them to know that this developer will always listen and will always do their best. We may not always meet exactly at the middle, however, we will always consider every action, every question and every direction."

And the experts say that they are determined to show that they are friends of Belize. They have been running programs to assist as much as they can, and today, they told us that they are in the process of putting together nautical charts of Belize's coast line which they will use for the construction phase:

Jim Reilly - Director of Environmental Protection, Blackadore Caye Restorative Island Project
"We brought several pieces of technology to bear on the Blackadore project. We have a water quality instrument that we've been sharing with several of the other NGO stakeholders in our area of influence with the Sarteneja alliance and the integrated coastal zone management goals to try and capture water quality data around the country where there is a lack of data and there is a lack of understanding because there is no data to compare against. The other part of it is that we have purchased a very large hydrographic survey system that we've retrofitted on to our vessel. It is not the same as what's being used in the seismic work offshore, it doesn't use an air gun technology where it's creating a sound in the water. It uses the same technology as a depth sounder on anyone's boat. It basically has a little repeater in a very high frequency that is none audible to either humans or to animals. So we are going around gathering hydrographic data initially around Blackadore itself and then also in the transportation routes that will be use from San Pedro to Blackadore, from the mainland in Belize City to Ladyville to Blackadore, from Corozal to Sarteneja to Blackadore. To establish all of those routes and to also put out navigation buoy for our barge traffic that will start in the beginning of next year. So we want to clearly delineate what are the approved channels, because all of the work we are doing is to pretty much climate as much as much dredging as possible. We are trying to remove all of that potential negative impact by gathering data and finding where the natural channels lie and utilizing all the natural channels. And the instrumentation that we have is also being shared with our constituents here in Belize. So once we gather our data as directed by the DOE to incorporate into our environmental contingency plan, then we will share the access to our equipment and make it available to the other stakeholders who may not be as economically fortunate as we are to purchase some of this equipment so that we can get that big picture view and hopefully prepare some charting or mapping of the bay area from San Pedro to Belize City, because there are no nautical charts that are available for that for those areas."

Jim Reilly from the Blackadore Group also told us that they are also assisting the San Pedro Fire Department be better equipped and trained after that devastating Block fire a few months ago.