Protecting an Ecosystem, Respecting the Right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent
W
ithin the boundaries of the Sarstoon-Temash National Park exist 14 major ecosystems, many of them home to endangered flora and fauna that exist nowhere else in the world. Through a unique and intricate system of traditional self-governance, or alcaldes, the 38 Maya communities of Southern Belize have maintained autonomy over their communities and sustained their natural resources for centuries. In events known as fajinas, held every few months, the alcaldes bring the entire village together in service projects like the maintenance of roads, trash collection, cleaning waterways, and caretaking of public spaces. They protect their environment because the rainforest, the corn and cacao crops, and the rivers and streams that run through their lands are often the Maya peoples’ sole source of survival. The victory of the communities of Conejo and Santa Cruz in a landmark case settled by Belize’s supreme court in 2007 was a great leap forward in the recognition of self-determination of Indigenous Peoples in Belize. Thirty-three additional communities proceeded to receive their own land titles, but now the government of Belize is appealing the decision to prevent them gaining authority over land it has promised to US Capital Energy. This past October, under the guise of “consultation,” US Capital Energy and the Belize government asked Maya villagers to review and approve a 300-page Environmental Impact Assessment document—in English—with less than two weeks notice and at the height of the harvest season. When asked to move the review date by a few weeks, the government refused. At the meeting, after more than two hours of presentations by government ministers, community leaders were given just one minute to present their concerns before security and military cut them off. The association of alcaldes demand that if oil drilling is to take place, it must only be with their Free, Prior and Informed Consent. “We have seen companies come and go promising development for the Maya people only to see our lands and forests taken away from us. It is time for the government to respect and recognize Maya peoples’ right to our lands. We have our own systems of decision-making and we demand that the consultation process respects this,” says Alfonso Cal, president of the Toledo Alcaldes Association. The government’s lack of transparency and decision to drill for oil in the national park sets a dangerous precedent that puts country’s remaining protected areas and all Indigenous villages at risk. A permit for US Capital’s exploration and drilling will undo decades of struggle by Indigenous people for their human rights. This is a defining moment for the environmental and Indigenous rights movements in Belize, Mesoamerica, and the world.
Photo by Tony Rath Photography/tonyrath.com
A Mayan family cooks a meal in their home in Santa Cruz, Toledo, Belize.
Cultural Survival
www.cs.org
Make Your Voice Heard! Please write to US Capital Energy and the Belize government and state your demand for: • Full transparency about plans for oil development in the Sarstoon-Temash National Park and the application of free, prior and informed consent in all future dealings. • All further developments to be put on hold until and unless the project receives the legitimate Free, Prior and Informed Consent of the affected communities. • A new EIA that includes the participation and input of communities in every step. • Compensation for communities for damages done to their property without achieving their Free, Prior and Informed Consent, including the destruction of 400 acres of forest in a drilling-related fire. • Recognition of the official land title to the Maya peoples in accordance with the 2007 and 2010 Belize Supreme Court rulings and the 2001 InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights recommendations. Please send letters, emails, and faxes to: Hon. Dean Oliver Barrow Prime Minister of Belize 3rd Floor, Left Wing, Sir Edney Cain Building, Belmopan, Cayo, Belize Tel: + (501) 822-2345 Fax: + (501) 822-0898 secretarypm@opm.gov.bz Hon. Vinai K. Thummalapally US Ambassador to Belize Floral Park Road Belmopan, Cayo, Belize Phone: + (501) 822-4011 Fax: +(501) 822-4012 Email: embbelize@state.gov Alex Cranberg, CHx Capital, LLC 1775 Sherman, Suite 2400 Denver, CO 80203, USA Telephone: 1 (303) 573-7011 Email: info@aspectenergy.com US Capital Energy Headquarters 4743 Ocean Drive, Corpus Christi, Texas, 78412 USA Fax 1-361-9938518 Email: info@uscapitalenergybelize.com, ngillett@nautavero.com www.cs.org/take-action/belize
Global Response
Campaign Alert Belize
Cultural Survival Quarterly
March 2013 • 29