Championing Biodiversity and Conservation in Belize - Hannah St . Luce-Martinez
About Hannah St. Luce-Martinez
Hannah St. Luce-Martinez is most knowledgeable about conservation and biodiversity issues in the Caribbean. Her impressive resume includes serving as the Director of Belize’s National Biodiversity Office and as the Belize Conservation Director for the Nature Conservancy. It seems she is on a path to change the world. However, she recognizes that she alone cannot change the world, but she can create many ripples. Hannah talks about the natural wonders of Belize, biodiversity, economic incentives, and ways to promote diversity in the conservation workplace.
Belize’s Barrier Reef, Biodiversity, and the Future of Inclusive Conservation
Hannah describes Belize. She calls it “the jewel of Central America.” It’s outstanding natural system consists of the largest barrier reef in the Northern Hemisphere. It’s a great diving hot spot with significant habitat for threatened species like sea turtles, manatees, and the American saltwater crocodile. Belize also has a UNESCO World Heritage site consisting of several protected areas making up 12 percent of its great barrier reef. However, Belize faces the same problems as elsewhere, problems due to global warming and its consequences. We are doing a lot with almost 30 percent of our ocean water protected making us a trendsetter and leader in conservation. We have already exceeded the UN 30X30 threshold and are demonstrating that intervention works.
Hannah chose a career in conservation because of her appreciation for every type of life form. She explains the concept of biodiversity. A concept that recognizes the importance of every life form. All species have value. Biodiversity and climate change are interrelated, closely linked and cannot be divorced.
Hannah is a mother of three children. She engages her children in the world. She wants them to become champions of the environment, but they don’t have to work in the field of conservation to do this. Whatever they choose to do they need to be aware that they live in a Blue World, a world where everything we do has an impact on the environment.
While the field of conservation has a higher proportion of women involved than many other fields, there is a lot more need for women to be incorporated in leadership positions. Sectors like finance, tourism, health, education, government need to have a higher proportion of women in leadership roles and to incorporate conservation values.
We can all be involved. She encourages people to educate themselves. Get involved in issues that will affect all of us. Our children need to get involved in youth movements. We need to invest in stay-at-home moms as they are the first point of information for our children. Let’s invest in providing more digestible information so that everyone, whatever their background, their language, can understand and engage.
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00:00:01 Pamela Ferris-Olson Today on the Wo(men) Wind the Water Artivist Series on womenmindthewater.com, I'm speaking with Hannah St. Luce-Martinez . Hanna is intimately familiar with the Caribbean, having been born on the island of Dominica and following her university studies, she has lived and worked in Belize. She has an impressive resume, including serving as Director of Belize’s National Biodiversity Office, the focal point to the Convention of Biological Diversity, and currently as the Belize Conservation Director for the Nature Conservancy. In addition to being well versed in issues related to conservation and biodiversity, she is passionate about promoting gender inclusivity and dedicated to empowering women and youth.
The Wo(men) Mind the Water Artivist Series podcast on womenmindthewater.com engages artists in conversation about their work and explores their connection with the ocean through their stories. Wo(men) Mind the Water hopes to inspire and encourage action to protect the ocean and her creatures.
00:01:12 Pamela Ferris-Olson I'm speaking with Hannah St. Luce-Martinez. Hannah is most knowledgeable about conservation and biodiversity issues in the Caribbean. Her impressive resume includes serving as the Director of Belize's National Biodiversity Office and as the Belize Conservation Director for the Nature Conservancy. Hannah, it seems she is on a path to change the world. However, she recognizes that she alone cannot change the world, but she can create many ripples. We are fortunate to have Hannah here today to talk about the natural wonders of Belize, biodiversity, economic incentives and ways to promote diversity in the conservation workplace.
Welcome, Hannah. I am looking forward to exploring Belize and your work. While your work is extensive and involves both terrestrial and marine ecosystems, I hope you won't mind if we focus our conversation today on the ocean. Before we get into details, I think it would be helpful if you gave us an idea of what we might find if we traveled to Belize. I've heard that the diving there is wonderful. Hannah, let's begin by having you be our guide. Please describe what we'd see if we traveled to Belize.
00:02:32 Hannah St. Luce-Martinez Thank you so much, Pam, and thank you for inviting me to the guest on the podcast. If you travel to the Belize what you would you find, you would find the jewel of Central America. So, but this is a beautiful country in the North East, Central America with a total land area of approximately 22,000 kilometers squared. For some it might be small, for others it might be relatively big. We have a total coast line of approximately 239 miles.
The outstanding natural system, consisting of the largest Barrier Reef in the northern hemisphere, which is made-up of offshore atolls, several 100 sand keys, mangrove forests, coastal lagoons, estuaries and natural monuments such as the Great Blue Hole and the Rocky Point where the Barrier Reef touches our Belizian shore.
Our coastal region, which is rather impressive, is a great diving hotspot as you recognized at the beginning. It is also significant for threatened habitat which includes, for example, for threatened species such as marine turtles, manatees, and the American fresh saltwater crocodile. We also have a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which is made-up of seven protected areas and this site constitutes or is comprised of 12% of the entire Belize Barrier Reef.
Our ocean is also threatened. Like every other ocean out there by over harvesting, invasive species, and climate change. And we're also looking at the Stony Coral Tissue Disease that has affected and continues to affect our corals. But we are doing a lot in terms of trying to conserve the. Belize has almost 30% of its marine waters protected.
00:04:50 Pamela Ferris-Olson That's an amazingly rich and diverse picture postcard that you have given us. Thank you so much. What motivated you to choose a path in conservation?
00:05:06 Hannah St. Luce-Martinez My zest for life, my appreciation of every type of life form, whether it's plants, animals, but also people, because I also see us as a big part of this grand global ecosystem.
00:05:20 Pamela Ferris-Olson Let's back up a minute and have you explain what biodiversity is and why it is important.
00:05:26 Hannah St. Luce-Martinez Biodiversity is the combination of all life forms on Earth, and that includes both plants and animals. Humans, microorganisms, both from the macro to the micro level. Biodiversity is the combination of all life forms on Earth and recognizes the importance of the intrinsic value of every life form on Earth. That is what we're trying to do now is to advocate that no species is without value.
00:06:10 Pamela Ferris-Olson In the press recently, it's been said that biodiversity is overlooked or overshadowed by climate change. Is one more important than the other?
00:06:21 Hannah St. Luce-Martinez No, one is not more important than the other. They're interrelated, closely linked and should never be divided.
00:06:28 Pamela Ferris-Olson You currently serve as Belize's Conservation Director for The Nature Conservancy. While it's clear that you have a great breadth of knowledge and that you have much passion, why has The Nature Conservancy put special emphasis on Belize?
00:06:49 Hannah St. Luce-Martinez Belize is what we would call a biodiversity hotspot in Mesoamerica. We have the second largest Barrier Reef, so that means we're also a hotspot for.
marine and coastal species, habitat and cultures. Belize is also what you could call a trendsetter. As it relates to conservation achievements, Belize is way beyond the target of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. We were there before the establishment of the 30 by 30 goal. We have already exceeded that threshold. And so as a result of our achievements, our commitments, we host and harbor such a high biodiversity, that we want to ensure that Belize continues to serve as the leader as a safe haven. You know, for biodiversity within the region and the globe as well. Because what we do isn't only benefiting Belize it's benefiting other countries in the region, but it's also benefiting the world.
00:08:08 Hannah St. Luce-Martinez And so that is a big part of why there is so much emphasis on Belize; because we are safe haven. We are an Oasis in the desert. We are really and truly making and showing that our interventions and programs are working. We have healthy populations of species that are in most other places, threatened or extinct.
00:08:33 Pamela Ferris-Olson How aware are your children of the environmental issues that you're working on and how concerned are they with the future of their own world?
00:08:43 Hannah St. Luce-Martinez I'm a mother of three,: a 14, 13 and 10 year old. My children have always been a part of what I do. As much as I can take the opportunity to take them up out there with me, I do so. We ensure at home that they're listening to the local news.
But also international news so that they're understanding that this is their life and their future.
This is their way of life and that this is what we call a natural resource-dependent nation. Our children eat produce that comes from our yard, from our neighbor’s yard, from our farms. And so we instill in them that appreciation, that recognition of our dependence on our living systems and our biodiversity and our resources. I want them to be champions of our environment and not lose sight of the fact that you do not have to work within the conservation field to contribute. Even if they become dentists or doctors or mechanics or hairdressers we live within a global ecosystem and that everything that happens in our environment or that we do has an impact on our environment and that all our sectors of our systems are interconnected.
00:10:19 Pamela Ferris-Olson What is needed to get access for women and minorities in the field of conservation?
00:10:29 Hannah St. Luce-Martinez I think in general we are a lot more advanced in terms of gender considerations within the conservation field. This is one of those fields where we have a higher percentage of women involved in decision-making. Most of our NGO's are run by females, by women. But in areas, for example, like species management and protection, I think there is a lot more need in terms of having women incorporated in playing decision-making roles to ensure that we are mainstreaming outside of just the conservation field. This extends to valuing and appreciation within the finance sector, tourism, health, education.
00:11:34 Hannah St. Luce-Martinez This is where I think we can honestly add benefit in ensuring that our women are placed in those decision-making positions within those sectors so that we are then mainstreaming. Again, as I said, all our systems are connected. We are advocating, even in the conservation world. Women are leading and pushing, but when we get to those transformational opportunities that involves working with other sectors we encounter blocks and walls now. We don't see women as involved in our parliamentary jobs. We have so few women you know and a lot of decision-making happens in the Cabinet. We need to have sufficient women that understand, that are mindful. We tend to be nurturers and by nature are protectors.
00:12:32 Hannah St. Luce-Martinez It's natural in a woman to want to protect and to nurture. And I think it is important that we have more women in Parliament, in parliamentary discussions, in Cabinet, in decision-making, not just in conservation. It would allow us, to afford us, a greater opportunity to mainstream and to see those changes that we need across sectors.
00:12:59 Pamela Ferris-Olson These are indeed big issues. So before we conclude, what suggestions do you have for our audience on how they can learn more about biodiversity and how they can be involved in spreading the message about its importance and maintaining the health of the ocean?
00:13:17 Hannah St. Luce-Martinez I would invite our people to look beyond just the quick fix information sources and to really take time to read and to appreciate and to get involved in those issues that affect every single one of us. Biodiversity and environmental issues don’t only affect those of us within the environmental field. As I said, it touches every single sector, every single element of our societies and our world. I would want to see the youths get involved in youth movements, in environmental clubs, in clean up campaigns. I would want to see us targeting the stay-at-home moms who are literally the first point of information to our generations. I would want to see us invest more in awareness building, capacity building and finding ways that brings information and translates the information in a form that is more digestible for our grandmoms and granddads and farmers so that people get involved. I also would implore or want to ask our conservation societies to find ways to engage. This is why one of the first questions I ask is who are we speaking to and in what language? Because how and what we say is so important. So finding ways to capture, to invite, and to embrace, and to bring in our different our societal subgroups is very, very important.
00:15:04 Pamela Ferris-Olson Hannah, I am so impressed by your passion, your sincerity, your knowledge and willingness to share and encourage us. I'm so appreciative that you agreed to be a guest on the Wo(men) Mind the Water Artivist Series Podcast and share. I expect listeners have gained a better understanding of Belize, biodiversity and their importance in the work to protect the ocean. I'd like to remind listeners that I've been speaking with Hannah St. Luce-Martinez, a dedicated professional in the areas of conservation and biodiversity, particularly as they pertain to policy and I'm going to say to the whole world. Hannah also is dedicated to empowering youth and women to work in the conservation.
Hannah St. Luce-Martinez is the latest guest on the Wo(men) Mind the Water Artivist Series podcast. The series can be viewed on womenmindthewater.com, Museum on Main Street, and YouTube an audio only version of this podcast is available on womenmindthewater.com and on iTunes, on Spotify. Wo(men) Mind the Water is grateful to Jane Rice for the use of her song Women of Water. All rights for the Wo(men) Mind the Water name and logo belong to Pam Ferris-Olson. This is Pam Ferris-Olson.
