‘I don’t want to see more graves go to sea’: Saving a Belize village from man-made destruction
Mario Muschamp said: “My grandmother and grandfather were washed out to sea today, while they were watching the beach near the Creole community where they were united. “You know, their graves are gone. That’s really fun.”
This is true for the residents of Monkey River, who have watched on, powerless, as their soccer field, their homes, and even the graves of their loved ones, have been swept away by the sea.
Human activity has been identified by experts as the main cause of coastal erosion which is destroying the village causing such deep suffering, especially industrial salt mining and water diversion. The situation has become so bad that some local people have left there.
The geotube fight
Others, however, have decided to stay and fight, and, in the words of local school teacher Audra Castellanos, “put Monkey River back on the map”.
Mr. Muschamp is the President of the Monkey River Watershed Association, a community-based group working to preserve and restore the integrity of the entire Monkey River Watershed, and ensure that it continues to provide many benefits to local residents and coastal environment. .
To this end, the Monkey Water Group partnered with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to install one hundred and sixty feet of sand-filled “geotubes” in front of the most endangered properties.
Residents are teaming up with UNDP to install geotubes, large synthetic sandbags that create physical barriers to wave power and erosion, and take other measures to slow down the beach.
‘We need climate justice’
“Monkey River Village is one of our priority coastal areas,” said Leonel Requena, UNDP Country Manager of the GEF Small Grants Program. “The residents of Odo Obo are not responsible for the climate crisis, yet they are the ones suffering the greatest loss and damage. What we need is climate justice.“
The story of Monkey River is about the hub of biodiversity where the river meets the sea – but more than that, it’s about a community that, like many others, is joining forces to turn the tide on climate change. , with the support of the United Nations.
Since the launch of the 2022 Global Lens video on the area in 2022, yet another house has been claimed by the sea, but the residents who have decided to protect their village do not say that nothing will wash away their decision to fight a coastal invasion.
“We’ve been doing our best to try and preserve what we have,” Mr. Muschamp said. “I don’t want to see any graves that go to sea.”
