Singapore compared to Belize


Reflections on Singapore from Belize—one year later.

It is serendipity to be in Belize one year after visiting Singapore to explore how a country and people choose to address the decisions balancing environmental concerns and economic goals. In the interim, one seeming example of a success story, Iceland, has imploded with the economic crisis during the last year. I remember my overall assessment of what I observed in Singapore. Although I would make preservation of natural resources (including wildlife, reefs, and the small remaining undeveloped areas) a priority, I came to understand that the people of Singapore should and would make these decisions based on their goals. The economic goals had been forefront but emerging interest in the environment was building—I hope it is in time to preserve some fascinating remaining areas.

Belize is also a recently (1981) independent country of small size and struggling in a difficult transition of determining their own fate. Like Singapore, Belize is highly literate (92-94% I was told), is dominated by a water setting, but has some potential natural resources. Thus far, the people of Belize have chosen to protect 60% of their country from development and are attempting to use the abundant beauty, wildlife, Mayan history, and reefs to attract tourists. Tourism is currently their primary industry and the people we met over the week seemed happy to live more simply (but comfortably) but preserving their heritage, history and surroundings. Belize pays a price of pinched finances (very different from the financial strength of Singapore), marginal infrastructure, and a lower standard of living.

I enjoyed meeting intelligent, multilingual and hardworking people in each country. Children were clean and happy as they passed by in their school uniforms in both countries. Again, I understand that the people of Belize should and will make decisions about their future and that of their natural environment. The impact of dense population in Singapore and contrasted smaller population in Belize certainly clarifies that limitations on decision making are impacted by forces of population density as much as any factor.

I recall the thought conveyed several times in Singapore. A people can not invest very much into environmental advocacy until after they have provided securely for food, shelter, and the well-being of children and family. Singapore and Belize struggling with these issues can teach us something about the barriers to worldwide issues of climate change and environmental degradation. I suspect most emerging nations are in similar struggles and the developed world (not doing an acceptable job ourselves) can not fairly be critical of our world partners.

C.S. Lewis wrote “Let’s pray that the human race never escapes earth to spread its iniquity elsewhere.”

Shorebirds-Water birds

Just as expected, in contrast to Singapore with “no shore left”, Belize was abundant with bird life on the shore and in the rain forest.
It is an inborn joy to awaken to the varied songs of birds greeting daylight. The absence of un-natural noise (traffic, machinery, neighborhood life noises) drowning out these songs was noteworthy. During the day a variety of birds were visible at each compass point. Frigate birds and Pelicans flew overhead, colorful songbirds were in the bushes, long tailed crackles were on the roof-tops, and along the shore paraded many familiar feathered friends also south for the winter.
(Cormorants, gulls, little blue heron, sander lings, ruddy turnstones, terns, Wilson’s plovers, black rail, osprey like seabird and more)

Up the New River and into the rainforest, we headed for the Mayan ruins at Lamanai. On the way we saw Mangrove swallows, white ibis, great heron. Great blue heron, ringed kingfisher, kites, night hawks, yellow flycatcher, Jacana, river hawk, egrets, red breasted swallow, parakeets, anhinga (also wild boar, howler monkeys, iguana) and big billed macaw.