Posted on enero, 05 2017

Belize has become a world leader in ocean sustainability! In the last days of 2017, Belize’s government adopted a permanent moratorium on oil activities in its waters, home to the Belize Barrier Reef World Heritage site. This is fantastic news for the people of Belize and will help safeguard one of the world’s most diverse ecosystems!

In 2016, WWF and Oceana led a coalition that successfully campaigned against seismic testing close to the reef. 

Nadia Bood, Mesoamerican reef scientist at WWF in Belize, said:

“This is great news for Belize. Not only has its government listened to calls to protect the Belize Barrier Reef, which only a year ago was under threat from seismic oil exploration, it has stepped up to become a world leader in ocean protection by ending all oil activity in its waters. This is a ground-breaking move for a country with a struggling economy.

“The Belize Barrier Reef is both home to an incredible number of species and vital to Belize’s economy, which is heavily reliant on reef-based tourism and fishing. By acting to remove a major threat to the reef, Belize is safeguarding its future prosperity. We hope this bold step will encourage other countries to follow suit and take the urgent actions needed to protect our planet’s oceans.”

WWF thanks all those in Belize and around the world who have supported our campaign to protect the Belize Barrier Reef World Heritage site from oil exploration and other harmful threats. Without you, today wouldn’t have happened!

Join the 450,000 people who have already made their mark, and help us secure the world's  second largest reef system from other threats, today.