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Honduras signs reef protection treaty with regional neighbors By BLANCA MORENO TEGUCIGALPA -- During a whirlwind trip to Mexico this week, President Reina joined the leaders of Mexico, Guatemala and Belize to sign the Tulum Declaration, a document in which the four nations promise to protect the coral reef system that they share. Last Thursday (June 5), Reina took a 12-hour round-trip journey to the Mexican state of Quintana Roo to meet with Mexican president Ernesto Zedillo, Guatemalan president Alvaro Arzu and Belizean prime minister Manuel Esquivel. The reef they agreed to protect, called the Great Mayan Reef, has been declared a Human Heritage site. The 1,000-kilometer stretch of Caribbean coastline that it occupies defies political borders and lines each of the four nations. The Great Mayan Reef is the world's second largest after Australia's Great Barrier Reef. The vastly rich marine ecosystem, which experts say is for the most part in good condition, begins at Mexico's Cape Catoche and continues south east to the Honduran Bay Islands. Each of the four nations that signed the conservation agreement recognize the excellent potential of the reef in terms of drawing eco-tourism dollars and are promoting its sustainable use. Ecologists say the primary threats to the reef are changing trends in soil use, deforestation, increasing erosion, dredging and sediment. The agreement seeks to establish a balance between human use and the needs of the marine species that inhabit the reef. It sets forth guidelines to prevent pollution and establishes mutual procedures for financial assistance, scientific research, training and cooperation. |
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