CAYE CAULKER INFRA-STRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED FOR THE TOURIST PACKAGE.

CAYE CAULKER LAZY LIZARD BAR, by the cut through the island.

TRIP ADVISOR VOTES HAD CAYE CAULKER ONE OF THE TOP TEN RECOMMENDED TOURIST ISLANDS IN THE WHOLE WORLD.

The LAZY LIZARD by the CUT through the island of Caye Caulker is re-doing their sea wall. Tourists who used to sun bathe and swim in the cut ( lots of them ) are now forced out on to the cement broken sea wall. I noticed this past month, that the sea wall is 4 to 5 feet higher than the sea. They, the tourists are having a lot of trouble getting into and out of the water, over the last month. It is the only decent bathing spot in the town and island.

IT SHOULD BE A PRIORITY FOR THE CAYE CAULKER TOWN COUNCIL TO BUILD A SET OF STAIRS, OR MORE THAN ONE, ALONG THAT CEMENT SEA WALL FOR TOURISTS.

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EASILY BUILT ARTICIAL REEF IN CAYE CAULKER

The mangroves that used to attract tourists snorkeling by the channel, or cut in the island have gone this year. Been removed for sea wall improvements. With the removal, went the habitat of several hundred grunts and snappers that attracted fish and tourists snorkeling. The area is barren now.
As a tourist attraction, the Caye Caulker Town Council, need to place some artificial reef around the split, and sea walls. Mangrove branch tips, held in place by 2 foot long 3/8" rebar with a bend in them, to hold them on the bottom, would attract hundreds of fish and make for a tourist attraction. Both for snorkelers and for casting fishermen.
Another way of doing it, would be to use plastic snow fence rolls. Roll a 30 ft, long 5 ft wide plastic snow fence, length wise. With mangrove branch tips inside it, and anchor them down along the sides of the shallows, or sea wall. Hundreds of small fish would be attracted and it would provide a good tourist draw, for the tourist community.

MEDIA AND GOVERNMENT PRONOUNCEMENTS ARE NOT REACHING 82% OF THE POPULATION OF BELIZE.

ONE OF THE TRAGIC THINGS ABOUT BELIZE AND ARTIFICIAL DOMINATION OF THE GOVERNMENT BY TOO MANY, VOTING CONSTITUENCIES IN THE PORT TOWN OF BELIZE CITY ( LESS THAN THE MINIMUM AVERAGE OF 5500 PERSONS PER CONSTITUTENCY )

Is the practice of making public regulatory announcements in that remote port town, about 18 % of the population, over the nation´s 7 districts, for political purposes. Enshrining rules, regulations and laws and announcing same in that same port town, dominated media enclave and assuming everybody in the nation of Belize is regulated and bound by such warnings and announcements.

When we in the other six districts, never knew, or even heard what the heck they are talking about.

There is a sad lack of communication between the political arm of government, the port town dominated media and the rest of the country of Belize. Often we do not hear about new rules and regulations and laws, until a year or so after the fact. Somebody came to explain to me ( one of my neighbors ) that you had to register a cell phone this year. Never heard about this before. Wonder why? Where the heck would you do that anyway? I´m currently on Caye Caulker for my health. Have no idea where you would register a SMART cell phone. Will look into it, when I return to the TWIN TOWNS in JUNE. Afer the forest fire season is over. I know where there is a SMART office there.

Belize bird study in SIXTH YEAR, 2012.

SIXTH YEAR OF TEN YEAR BIRD STUDY ONGOING IN BELIZE


The 2011 Partners in Flight Award recipients are:

Award for Investigations

Belize Foundation for Research and Environmental Education (BFREE) Avian Monitoring Program in southern Belize. In 2006, BFREE and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington established an avian monitoring program onsite at BFREE in Belize. Now in its sixth year of a planned ten-year monitoring program, it is the first long-term bird study conducted in Belize. The program goals are to create and enhance links between protected areas and surrounding communities, provide baseline data on Neotropical migrant and resident birds, and determine the status of wild harpy eagles in the Bladen Nature Reserve and the greater Maya Mountains Massif. In November of 2011, BFREE technicians further identified the first known active harpy nest ever found in Belize.

BELIZE GOVERNMENT IN DEFAULT OF JAPANESE ECONOMIC AID ASSISTANCE IT IS ARGUED?

Japanese financed and installed solar research project at the University of Belize,in the tiny capital of Belize.


JAPANESE SOLAR PROJECT GONE AWRY SOME SAY IN BELIZE?


Apparently the Government of Belize was to pass laws, to enable, or force BEL the monopoly government electricity producer, as part of the requirement for the Japanese big solar project at the University of Belize in the capital Belmopan. The government never did their part, by enabling NET METERING for small home producers of electricity. At least so far. The Japanese did install the solar project, but homeowners have not benefited from being able to produce electricity and sell it back to BEL.
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contributed comment:

Ray, I don't think the Japanese gift of the solar project to UB/Belize and the legislation required would need to apply to homeowners or other private parties.

Legislation to allow UB to sell power to BEL should not be a problem since Gov. now owns BEL and the Japanese gifted system. Unless BECOL (the company that owns the hydro dams) would have some legal claim because I think the hydro dams are contracted to get first dibs on providing power to BEL. Or maybe the deal on power price from CFE Mexico is they get second dibs or Belize pays a higher price. Then you have BELCOGEN (the bagasse project) that might come into play with legal right to sell.

So, legislation could be more complicated than my first thoughts based on who owns what, but I don't see where homeowners or other private entities with alternative independent power system would come into play for two reasons. First of all, most homeowners and businesses who have independent power systems usually do so because the grid doesn't reach them and it costs to much or is logistically impractical to bring the grid to them. No grid access = no delivery system for sell back. The second reason is (imo) an independent system in Belize costs too much for anyone to want to install extra panels and equipment to sell power to BEL at a price less than or equal to what BEL pays BECOL or CFE for power. I can't see BEL paying independent providers more per kWh than they charge their customers.

Is the photo you posted in your email a photo of the UB solar project site?

Lynn

(No! Just an off the GOOGLE thingy photo as an example.)

JAPAN TO OFFER AID TO BELIZE THROUGH THE INTER DEVELOPEMENT BANK

JAPAN TO AID BELIZE THROUGH THE INTER DEVELOPMENT BANK


The following information was released by the Inter-American Development Bank Click for Enhanced Coverage Linking Searches(IDB):

The Inter-American Development Bank Click for Enhanced Coverage Linking Searches(IDB) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will provide up to $600 million in financing for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in Central America and the Caribbean over the next five years.

The framework agreement was signed during the IDB's annual meeting today between IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno and JICA Senior Special Advisor Hiroto Arakawa. The financing will benefit IDB member countries that already are eligible for JICA financing: Belize, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama and Suriname.

"For more than 30 years, Japan has been a great partner of the IDB and, in particular, of our borrowing member countries,'' said Moreno. "This agreement is another example of Japan's efforts to help our region overcome key development challenges. This contribution, in addition to encouraging the adoption of climate-friendly energy investments, will support much needed mitigation measures to address the negative impacts of climate change among our most vulnerable nations in Central America and the Caribbean."

Arakawa noted that Central America and the Caribbean are at the core of JICA's agenda to address global climate change. "We count on the IDB's experience, knowledge and long-standing working relationship with the region to create a successful synergy in this effort," he said.

Under the agreement, the IDB and JICA have created two different co-financing schemes: joint-co-financing, in which the IDB will match the financing provided by JICA in each project; and parallel co-financing, in which each organization will separately finance specific components of an eligible project.

JICA will provide $300 million in concessional financing for the facility, which could potentially mobilize another $300 million from the IDB's own resources if all projects are financed under the joint co-financing scheme.

"We are considering potential projects in the areas of hydroelectric power plant rehabilitation, photovoltaic power generation, and installation of energy saving facilities and equipment,'' said Toshitaka Takeuchi, energy specialist and technical contact for the agreement at the IDB's Energy Division. "In addition we will explore financing opportunities for geothermal power generation considering its significant potential in the region."

All projects will be processed, approved and executed in accordance with the IDB's sovereign guaranteed loan policies and procedures in the case of joint co-financing.

This framework agreement was a result of two Memoranda of Understanding between the IDB and JICA, the most recent in 2011, focusing on strategic partnerships on renewable energy and energy efficiency, a key component of the Bank's response to climate change adaptation and mitigation. Under the recent General Capital Increase, the Bank sets a target of 25 percent of total lending to be dedicated to climate change adaptation, environmental sustainability and renewable energy.

Japan became the first Asian member country of the IDB in 1976 and has contributed over $5 billion to the Bank's financial resources and, more recently, an additional $3.5 billion to the capital increase.

SAVE THE XATE PLANT IN BELIZE FROM GUATEMALAN POACHERS.

XATE PLANT IN SOUTH WEST JUNGLES OF BELIZE.
XATE PLANT

SAVE THE XATE PLANT IN THE SOUTH WESTERN JUNGLES OF BELIZE FROM GUATEMALAN POACHERS.


GIVING your mum a big bunch of flowers will be the gift of choice for millions on Mother's Day tomorrow.

But it seems that the humble bouquet may be doing more harm than you might think - as new research shows that flower arranging is fuelling the decline of an exotic plant on the other side of the world.

Research from Bangor University has shown than the enduring art and huge industry of flower arranging is a reason behind the decline of exotic, wild palm leaves in the rainforests of Central America. The report has warned that exports used for the flower arranging industry are "threatening the existence" of the xaté palm leaves in Guatemala and Belize - used by many major florists in the UK and mainland Europe for their Mother's Day bunches.

Demand for the leaves - which are coveted for their strong green colour and beauty - are "threatening the survival" of the wild palms, with Mother's Day joining Valentine's Day and Palm Sunday as the peak points of the year for local producers.

Efforts are now being made by the Welsh scientists and the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, in London, to train local farmers to cultivate xaté for harvest, in a bid to stem the decline of the plant in the wild.

The extent of the xaté's plight is not known, but debates are under way about it being red-listed as a conservation concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Lead author of the study, Sophie Williams, said that the xaté palm leaves were exported to Europe and USA for flower arranging and have developed into a multi-million-pound industry.

She said that there had to be an emphasis on training local farmers and further research into its effectiveness in reducing pressure on xaté numbers.

She said: "It is mainly exported to the US and Europe, and it comes into Amsterdam and then moved throughout Europe and usually goes into higher-end flower arrangements.

"We have done a few calls to suppliers [in the UK] and they are used in quite a few major companies.

"People like this leaf in particular because it stays green for a very long time - it will often stay green for two to three weeks longer, and it is beautiful."

She said there was a "huge lack of awareness" among the British public that these leaves are in the millions of bouquets sent out for Mother's Day, and that it might not be sustainably produced.

MsWilliams would like to see a Fairtrade-style labelling system, thus guaranteeing producers a premium price, so people knew they were buying sustainably-produced leaves. She also said there was no local market for the leaves, so they were economically-dependent on exports, which made finding a solution to sustainable production "even more vital".

She said: "If we still want to have these leaves in our bouquets in 20 years' time, we should be bothered about this.

"A huge number of people are dependent on this plant species. And for some people, we should care because of the intrinsic value of biodiversity, that we don't have the right to exploit something to the point where it disappears.

"I would hesitate to tell people not to buy xaté leaves, because it will stop people whose incomes are already low from exporting. But people should be aware of the situation."

The research called for training to be given to local farmers to commercialise the growing of the plants to reduce the amount of wild plants being harvested. It had already been shown a success in trials.

Dr Colin Clubbe, of the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and another author on the study, added: "The training programme had influenced behaviour by providing the skills needed to grow a new species but also it increased people's belief in their ability to grow a new species.

"This is critical for people to actually cultivate this important plant. The results from this study will help design training programmes for encouraging cultivation of over-harvested species."

GRAPHIC: ¦ Exotic palm leaves in your Mother's Day bouquet may have come from forests in Belize or Guatemala, Central America. Sophie Williams, right, of Bangor University, says export for the flower arranging industry threatens the survival of these palms in the wild.

HOW TO SET UP A BARTER SYSTEM NETWORK, AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR GOVERNMENT MONEY. TAKE NOTE BELIZEANS

GREECE PEOPLE BECAUSE OF THEIR LOOMING DEFAULT, EXPECTED TO OCCUR IN THE FALL MONTHS HAVE TURNED CREATIVE AND THERE ARE NOW A NUMBER OF BARTER CLUBS, ISSUING COUPONS, INSTEAD OF GOVERNMENT MONEY

A determination to ‘move beyond anger to creativity’ is driving a strong barter economy in some places

In recent weeks, Theodoros Mavridis has bought fresh eggs, tsipourou (the local brandy: beware), fruit, olives, olive oil, jam, and soap. He has also had some legal advice, and enjoyed the services of an accountant to help fill in his tax return.

None of it has cost him a euro, because he had previously done a spot of electrical work – repairing a TV, sorting out a dodgy light – for some of the 800-odd members of a fast-growing exchange network in the port town of Volos, midway between Athens and Thessaloniki.

In return for his expert labour, Mavridis received a number of Local Alternative Units (known as tems in Greek) in his online network account. In return for the eggs, olive oil, tax advice and the rest, he transferred tems into other people’s accounts.

“It’s an easier, more direct way of exchanging goods and services,” said Bernhardt Koppold, a German-born homeopathist and acupuncturist in Volos who is an active member of the network. “It’s also a way of showing practical solidarity – of building relationships.”

He had just treated Maria McCarthy, an English teacher who has lived and worked in the town for 20 years. The consultation was her first tem transaction, and she used one of the vouchers available for people who haven’t yet, or can’t, set up an online account.

“I already exchange directly with a couple of families, mainly English teaching for babysitting, and this is a great way to extend that,” said McCarthy. “This is still young, but it’s growing very quickly. Plainly, the more you use it the more useful to you it gets.”

Tems has been up and running for barely 18 months, said Maria Choupis, one of its founder members. Prompted by ever more swingeing salary cuts and tax increases, she reckons there are now around 15 such networks active around Greece, and more planned. “They are as much social structures as economic ones,” she said. “They foster intimacy and mutual support.”

The network is currently busy transforming a disused building owned by Volos university into a permanent exchange and barter space. It will host a daily market from next month at which members can meet and exchange without using cash. Several highly successful open-air markets were held throughout last summer, Choupis said, until the weather got too cold.

“They’re quite joyous occasions,” she said. “It’s very liberating, not using money.” At one market, she said, she approached a woman who had come along with three large trays of homemade cakes and was selling them for a unit a cake. “I asked her: ‘Do you think that’s enough? After all, you had the cost of the ingredients, the electricity to cook …’

“She replied: ‘Wait until the market is over’, and at the end she had three different kinds of fruit, two one-litre bottles of olive oil, soaps, beans, a dozen eggs and a whole lot of yoghurt. ‘If I had bought all this at the supermarket,’ she said, ‘it would have cost me a great deal more than what it cost to make these cakes.’”

What rules the system has are designed to ensure the tems continue “to circulate, and work hard as a currency”, said Christos Pappionannou, a mechanical engineer who runs the network’s website using open-source software.

No one may hold more than 1,200 tems in the account “so people don’t start hoarding; once you reach the top limit you have to start using them.”

And no one may owe more than 300, so people “can’t get into debt, and have to start offering something”.

Businesses that are part of the network are allowed to do transactions partly in tems, and partly in euros; most offer a 50/50 part-exchange.

“We recognise that they have their fixed costs, they have to pay a rent and bills in euros,” said Pappionannou. “You could say that their ‘profit’ might be taken in Tems, to be reinvested in the network.”

Choupis said she thought the network would have grown even faster that it has if people were not so “frozen, in a state of fear. It’s like they’ve been hit over the head with a brick; they’re dizzy. And they’re cautious; they’re still thinking: ‘I need euros, how am I going to pay my bills?’ But as soon as people see how much they can do without money, they’re convinced.”

The Greek parliament recently passed a law encouraging “alternative forms of entrepreneurship and local development”, including exchange networks such as Volos’s, giving them official non-profit status for tax purposes.

Choupis said there was a new mood abroad in Greece, a determination to “move beyond anger to creativity”.

“You are not poor when you have no money,” she said, “you are poor when you have nothing to offer – except for the elderly and the sick, to whom we should all be offering.”