AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums The Cayes Ambergris Caye Southern development razes vegetation to the ground

Large amounts of vegetation have been razed in southern Ambergris Caye as developers level their properties with no regard to the impact it is having on the environment. Neighbours are outraged at the sight of destruction, as many mature trees and natural habitat have been bulldozed. According to residents in the area, native wildlife has been displaced, and the site resembles that of 'a warzone.'

Residents fear that the continued cutting down of trees will lead to erosion and even potential flooding from the lagoon side. They are urging the respective authorities to step in and put a stop to this horrendous destruction. The local and environmental authorities have yet to weigh in on this issue.

Click here to read the rest of the article in the San Pedro Sun

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Massive Land Clearing Has Island Residents Very Concerned
Once it became obvious last week that the clear cutting was not going to be confined to a small area, residents of south Ambergris Caye started mobilizing and expressing their concerns to local authorities. It's acres upon acres that have been leveled completely by developers and area residents say they had no regards to any impact on the environment. The large lots of land located in Holiday Lands LLC include property adjacent to Royal Caribbean Resort that extends all the way to Pelican Reef Villas, a distance almost a mile long. Neighboring residents are outraged at the destruction of trees, including mangroves that are natural habitat to many wild animals living in the area.

Did they ever consider how their housing was built? Nice they are so concerned when it is others.....

Here is a picture by Dee-Rhonda Dillon showing the huge span of area being chopped. There has been more cleared since she did this map.

Yeeah, they stripped the land for their houses and now are complaining about others doing the same thing behind them! Tear their own houses down and replace the mangroves to stop erosion before they complain about others!

So true........

Video: The South Ambergris Caye neighborhood. Sadly they still have plenty more land waiting to be cleared

I don't mean to sound negative, but somebody tell me something good about this and the repeated murders on Ambergris.

Don't get me wrong (I just got admonished from The Powers that I was too negative), my thoughts are for nothing more than the well-being of the Caye, it's citizens and it's visitors, and it's expanded allure to all who aspire to a terrific Caribbean vacation.

But at what price?

Now, don't get me wrong, .........

Not everyone stripped the land for their houses. Some, like ourselves, did everything possible to save as many native trees as possible and worked around them. I would agree though that many do and we see it in our own neighbourhood - people moving in, knocking everything down and either replacing it with lawns or non native, easily maintained ornamental trees. I really hope the island starts to attract more people with a better sense of environmental responsibility. There were no mangroves on our property as it was on an old cocal plantation and not near the water. We are so glad we saved our native trees and planted more. It can be a pain raking up after them, but the number of birds and other wildlife they attract is wonderful.

What you see in the video is not just stripping land for a house or even a development or resort. This is miles of devastation, destroying what was once a lovely area and displacing a ton of wildlife.

DOE issues stop order on land clearing

The Department of the Environment (DOE) has issued a stop order on the land clearing a few miles south of San Pedro Town. Concerned residents reported the massive land clearance by a local developer, whereby hundreds of acres have been bulldozed, and native vegetation, including mangroves, destroyed and displacing wildlife. Environmental officers from DOE made an enforcement check at the site, and afterwards issued a cessation order and enforcement warning against the developer. The clearing has since come to a halt.

Residents applauded the attention given by DOE's Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Percival Cho. According to them, he was very instrumental in getting the inspection made in time before more land was cleared. As such, the DOE also thanked the island residents who reported the incident. "The assistance of the general public in the protection of the environment is indeed invaluable," expressed Dr. Cho via an email.

Click here to read the rest of the article in the San Pedro Sun

And the fine? That will determine how serious this crime is to the doers. Has to be a multiple of the new valuation of the cleared land. Gotta hurt more than just the creatures whose habitat, ie homes, destroyed.