Belize joins efforts to preserve the Coral Reef

With the second longest reef barrier in the world and the largest in the Western Hemisphere, Belize has long been aware of the need to protect marine resources, as these ecosystems provide labor in different sectors such as fishing and tourism, which are the basis of the economy of this Central American country with Caribbean coastline.

But lately a decline was recorded in the production and export of marine goods such as conch, lobster and various fish, despite the growth of tourism.

No help overfishing and harvesting immature lobsters and conch out of the proper season. But the main reason to lower its population in Belizean waters, according to local experts, the acidity of the oceans, which prevents these varieties, which depend on their hard shells, survive, grow and mature.

According to the executive director of the Center for Climate Change in the Caribbean Community (CCCCC), Leslie Kendrick, acidification is so important and detrimental to the sustainability of coral reefs and oceans in general, as overheating atmosphere and other factors normally associated with climate change.

The ocean absorbs carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by greenhouse gases and becomes carbonic acid, which acts with calcium in the shells of hermit crabs and lobsters to form calcium carbonate, which dissolves the shell and reduces the amount animal.

Belize also suffers continuous bleaching coral reef in key areas in recent years.

Leslie also told IPS that activities affecting land in Belize problems recorded in their territorial waters. "What on earth will happen eventually reach the sea through the rivers," he said.

To meet the new challenges, it needs further investigations with the latest available data.

The European Union (EU), through the Project to Support its Global Alliance Caribbean Climate Change initiative, delivered in September to the US government, specifically the Ministry of Fisheries, a Forestry and Sustainable Development of Early Warning System for Coral Reef.

Crews buoy is located in the South Water Cay, against Stann Creek District in south-central Belize.

Developed by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration and the United States, was adopted by the CCCCC as a hub of efforts to obtain reliable data for the development of strategies to combat climate change.

The Crews system means a technological leap forward in research on this phenomenon, Leslie said. The buoy contains several instruments designed to measure the conditions above and below the surface, and track if a threat appears.

The collected data on atmospheric and oceanic conditions, such as turbidity, the level of carbon dioxide and other harmful elements, among several things, are monitored at the CCCCC office in Belmopan and international well trained scientists are sent to analyze the data.