The Reporter (Belize)

March 20, 2001

A local river challenge race provides education about the risks posed to the valuable and fragile part of Belize’s heritage by building the Chalillo dam.

The Coalition of Concerned Citizens was on hand throughout the La Ruta Maya River Challenge, providing information about the threats posed by the Chalillo dam to the Macal River. Coalition spokesman Jonathan Lohr said that the race, which has become the biggest sporting event in Belize, has always mixed sports, fun and environmental awareness. “It is the one time during the year that the entire country focuses on our unique river system. Our aim during the race was to provide education about the risks posed to this valuable and fragile part of Belize’s heritage by building the Chalillo dam,” Lohr said. The CCC’s education campaign during the La Ruta Maya Challenge, which ran from March 8 to 11, included environmental presentations and information leaflets at the overnight rest stops along the way. CCC members distributed printed information, educational packets, calendars, questionnaires and other material. Distinctive tee shirts were also being given out for every donation of ten dollars. “CCC, and its team of volunteers received a wide outpouring of support from spectators and race participants who gathered to ask questions about the Chalillo project and offer their opinions. ‘They promised us cheaper electricity with the last dam, but my rates just keep going up,” said one San Ignacio resident who did not want to be identified. “My kids grew up on this river, and it makes me so mad to think of it being destroyed,” said another. “We love our rivers and want to protect them,” Lohr said. “We are not at all anti-development. Our biggest campaign at the moment is to pressure the government to live up to its promise of accountability and transparency, especially in areas of development affecting the environment. We ask for information, and then provide it to the people of Belize so that everyone can make informed decisions about how our natural resources are being used”. Lohr described the Coalition of Concerned Citizens as a grass roots Belizean organization committed to raising public awareness of serious issues affecting Belize’s environment. “We believe that education and information are the keys to proper management of our resources. We also believe that if all Belizeans are given honest, correct information, we will make the right decisions about how our country develops. After all, Belize is for all of us, and our children and their children. We should all know exactly what government is planning, and make sure it benefits all Belizeans, not just a select group of foreign investors,” Lohr said.