Caribbean & Central America - 17 February 2004

The construction of the controversial Chalillo dam will go ahead as planned after the UK's Privy Council dismissed the efforts of the Belize Association of Non-governmental Organisations (Bacongo) to block the project on environmental grounds. Bacongo has unsuccessfully challenged the dam at every judicial level in Belize. The council ruling was the closest yet, with the dam winning the approval of three of the five judges.  

The dam's supporters argue that it is the most economic option for Belize, which is highly dependent on Mexico for energy. Bacongo said the environmental impact assessment was inadequate. It also argued that the dam will not cover Belize's energy shortage and will destroy a pristine area of biodiversity into the bargain.  

It recommended that the government should employ an alternative method of generating sustainable power, using bagasse, a by-product of sugar cane, which Belize grows in abundance. The Chalillo project has been at the centre of a fierce campaign since 1999 featuring Hollywood stars such as Harrison Ford and Cameron Diaz. The Macal River valley, where the dam is being built, is believed to be the only known Belizean breeding ground of a rare sub-species of scarlet macaw, with 1,000 survivors worldwide, as well as many big cats, such as ocelots, puma and jaguar.