---

PRESS ADVISORY

December 18, 2002

On December 19, the Supreme Court of Belize is set to rule on the case challenging the government’s approval of a Canadian- backed dam that would flood one of the last undisturbed river valleys in Central America.

The country’s first major environmental lawsuit, brought by a coalition of Belizean environmental groups, argues that Fortis, Inc., of Newfoundland, failed to get proper environmental clearance for a US$30-million hydroelectric dam it plans to build in Belize’s Macal River Valley. The case represents the strongest challenge to the government’s authority in this small Central American country since it gained independence from Britain two decades ago.

Observers see it as a key test of the country’s judicial system and environmental laws, one that has pitted riverside communities and citizens groups against a billion-dollar power and real estate company.

Fortis insist its environmental impact assessment, paid for by the Canadian government, meets Belize’s environmental standards. But environmentalists argue that the Canadian assessment is incomplete and has not been subject to public hearings as the law requires.

When the lawsuit was argued in July, the Belize government claimed it had not yet granted approval for the project, and that public hearings and environmental studies would have to be carried out first. The government now says the project has been approved, though no further hearings or studies have been done.

Leading scientists including Dr. David Suzuki, environmentalists’ Robert Bateman and Robert Kennedy, Jr., of the Natural Resources Defense Council, and celebrities like Harrison Ford, have appealed to Fortis to stay out of the Macal River Valley and pursue less damaging electricity options.

If built, Fortis’ dam would flood part of the last undisturbed habitat for more than a dozen rare or endangered species of wildlife, including jaguar, tapir, and a subspecies of scarlet macaw.

For more information:

CONTACT: Grainne Ryder, Policy Director, Probe International, Toronto, (416) 964-9223, ext. 228

Greg Malone, Save the Macal River Valley Coalition, St. John’s, Newfoundland, (709) 722-7775

Jacob Scherr, Director, International Programs, Natural Resources Defense Council, Washington, D.C., (202) 289-2367

OR visit our Web site at www.StopFortis.com