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Toronto — Some of the world’s leading tropical ecologists and wildlife experts have joined a campaign against a Canadian-backed hydro scheme that threatens endangered Central American wildlife.

In a letter to H. Stanley Marshall, CEO of Fortis, Inc., a billion-dollar Canadian energy company based in St. John’s, Newfoundland, the scientists called the Fortis plan to build the Chalillo dam in Belize’s Macal River valley “reckless.”

The 18 signatories include Central America’s top wildlife experts, conservation biologists at Cornell and Stanford universities, as well as Peter Raven, President of the American Association for Advancement of Science, and Canada’s David Suzuki.

The letter, dated April 22, warns Mr. Marshall that hydro development along the upper Macal River would have a “significant and long lasting” impact on endangered wildlife, including the jaguar, spider monkey, scarlet macaw — fewer than 250 of which remain in Belize — and the tapir, an ancient relative of the horse and Belize’s national animal.

“This is arguably the wildest place left in Central America,” according to Sharon Matola, Director of the Belize Zoo and Tropical Education Center, and an expert on the scarlet macaw and tapir. “Nowhere else do you see these species in such pristine habitat, and it is unconscionable that a Canadian company plans to flood this area.”

The scientists have urged Fortis to use “extreme caution” in its decision making and called for more field studies, full disclosure, and an independent scientific review of the project, in keeping with last year’s resolution by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, which includes 2,400 representatives of government and conservation organizations.

The scientists also criticized the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) — which has agreed to pay Canadian consultants a quarter of a million dollars to produce a “project justification report” for the dam — saying that CIDA’s refusal to release project documents “contravenes good scientific practice.”

Fortis — which owns Belize’s electric company and utilities in Newfoundland, Ontario, and Prince Edward Island — has proposed the US$30-million Chalillo dam as a low-cost source of electricity for Belize and its population of 250,000.

But critics point to independent studies showing that the dam will lead to electricity rate increases for Belizeans and argue that the Fortis monopoly in Belize is stifling economically viable investment in alternatives.

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For more information and photos of the Macal River valley CONTACT:

Gráinne Ryder, Probe International, Toronto, Canada
Phone: (416) 964-9223 ext. 228, E-mail: GrainneRyder@nextcity.com

Ari Hershowitz, Natural Resources Defense Council, Washington DC, USA
Phone: (202) 289-2388, E-mail: ahershowitz@nrdc.org

Probe International is a Toronto-based citizens’ group investigating the economic and environmental effects of Canadian aid and companies in developing countries.