By Jem Smith
Last week, we reported on a two-day workshop in which the media were hosted by the Earth Journalism Network (EJN), a global community of over 8,000 reporters who cover and report on a range of environmental topics. During that session, reporters were taken to Sergeant’s, Goff’s, and Swallow cayes where we were given an opportunity to actually see the effects of climate change and erosion in our Belize.
The first place we visited was Sergeant’s Caye and quite truthfully, I would not even know we had arrived at our first stop if that were not explicitly said. The tiny patch of white sand against the perfect teal hue of the water hardly covered more than a couple square feet in area, and I would hardly consider it a Caye. It was from that moment that the field trip became engaging and interesting. Valdemar Andrade, Executive Director at the Turneffe Atoll Sustainability Association explained why. “There is a natural way the barrier islands react towards the waves and the winds. Generally they are rolling over themselves right. So I was using it as an example how areas react that are behind mangroves or are covered with mangroves.” Sergeant’s Caye used to be significantly larger in area, large enough to hold houses and septic, which we saw some feet away from the white patch, but over time, the sand that made up the island became smaller and smaller. It is still a part of the Belize Barrier Reef, which forms a part of the Mesoamerican Reef (MAR) and was once a barrier island, but because of its loss in mass, it can no longer act in that capacity.
Barrier islands might not seem significant to the average person, but they play quite an important role. Andrade says that the ones in Belize City’s proximity protect the city, one of the points of highest population. They are just as important as mangroves which act as barriers from several natural disasters. “It not only protects normally but in natural disasters, hurricanes or any other natural phenomenon. It breaks the waves and it also breaks the winds from slamming straight to Belize City. In many instances, what you want to do is maintain your mangrove protected barrier islands especially in the cases that we are seeing here.”
We then proceeded to Goff’s Caye, a significantly larger island with 1.5 acres and one which is frequented by hundreds of persons at a time. The Caye, unlike several others, has management which determines where swimming is permitted, how many persons are allowed on the island at a time, what items can be taken on the island, etcetera, all in the name of preserving the natural resources.
