Belize praised for 'visionary' steps to save coral reef
World heritage body Unesco has removed the Belize Barrier Reef from its list of endangered World Heritage Sites after nine years. It said the government of the Central American country had taken "visionary" steps to preserve it.
The reef is the second largest in the world after Australia's Great Barrier Reef. It is home to many threatened species including marine turtles, manatees and the American marine crocodile.
Unesco added the reef to its list of world heritage sites in 1996 but said it was in danger in 2009 following plans by the Belize government to allow oil exploration in nearby waters. [...] In December 2017, lawmakers passed a landmark moratorium on oil exploration in Belizean waters, which makes it one of only a handful of countries in the world with such legislation.
(Score: 2) by Deeo Kain on Friday June 29 2018, @08:33AM (2 children)
Kudos to the Republic of Belize!
I read they had to move their capital from Belize City, built of the ocean's shore, to Belmopan, after the former was destroyed by a hurricane. Their decision must have been motivated also by considerations concerning global warming and rising sea levels.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by khallow on Friday June 29 2018, @12:12PM (1 child)
Nonsense. Belize City had been hit by hurricanes twice in thirty years in 1931 and 1961. While there might have been speculation back then in the climatology community that global warming and subsequent rising sea levels could be a problem, it wasn't a factor in the move.
(Score: 2) by Bot on Sunday July 01 2018, @08:08AM
> hurricane hit bureaucratic and political capital
it's properly called an act of God.
Account abandoned.