Environmental Catastrophe, Social Calamity: Monkey River and the Swallowing Sea
Capstone project by Courtney Weatherburne, May 2017
Courtney Weatherburne is a reporter for Belize’s Channel 7 News. In this story, she travels to Monkey River to show how the community is facing devastating erosion and searching for survival solutions.
Monkey River is disappearing; you only get to see it and understand the gravity of the situation if you are there. These residents have already lost so much, and they have been pleading for help for years.
Monkey River is not just important because it has a place in history as a nineteenth century boom town, but because for its residents, everything they have is in Monkey River – their families, friends, culture.
For this video project, Courtney Weatherburne collaborated with:
Cameraman and Editor: Codie Noralez Video Editor: Lance Howard Creative Consultant: Jules Vasquez
What action can people take? Apart from the residents stacking rocks and sand in their yard, or placing the gabion baskets along the shore, the Belize City Council is spearheading a tire initiative.
MORE: Tires for Tides
The city council members have been going around the city collecting used tires to take to Monkey River. This initiative has been done before and it has failed but the council has brought on experts to ensure it is more effective this time around. And from the economic perspective, Tide Tours has been assisting the residents in making a name for themselves in the tourism market.
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