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Conservation measures accelerate last year when the Mesoamerican Reef, home to more than 500 species of fish and marine species, including large whale shark populations, attracted global attention, more than 65 national and international agencies Figures from the Queensland Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy indicate that 36,600 hectares in the Great Barrier Reef's watersheds were approved for clearing trees, but that they are waiting to be destroyed
. Coral reef on the outskirts of San Pedro village, Ambergris Cay, Belize A woman snorkels at the coral reef of the Hol Chan Marine Reserve in the suburb of San Pedro village in Ambergris Cay, Belize.
The world after the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.
Why was the Belize Barrier Reef in danger? "In collaboration with global organizations and civil society, she was able to identify and take the necessary steps to protect this incredible site from immediate threats and create a collaborative model that others can follow," said Fanny Douvere, Program Coordinator UNESCO World Heritage Center
Belize estimates that 20% of the country's 367,000 people live directly or indirectly off coral reefs. Charles Darwin himself described it as "the most remarkable reef in the West Indies".
AFP reports that 96% of the people in the informal vote chose to protect the reef instead of allowing offshore oil drilling. In 2017, the government declared a moratorium on oil exploration.
The governing body of World Heritage sites, UNESCO added Belize Reef to this list in 1996. However, in 2009, the site was declared endangered.
All this is good news for Belize, Root stresses that the reef is still facing challenges related to tourism and the development of cruises, to the invasion of lion fish, which decimate other tropical species and runoff. Unesco hailed these efforts as a "visionary plan for managing the coastline" and "the level of conservation we hoped to achieve".
"The List of World Heritage in Danger aims to focus actions where they are most useful," says Peter Shadie, IUCN Senior World Heritage Adviser.
Although the changes do not fully guarantee the future survival of this reef ecosystem is a big step in the right direction and a promising sign that sustained efforts to preserve it will continue – and that other nations that have the opportunity to protect coastal ecosystems will be able to follow it.
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