Search Results for: Belize Barrier Reef

In a welcome move celebrated across the country, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has officially de-listed the Belize Barrier Reef from the list of World Heritage Sites in Danger.

The Belize Barrier Reef, the largest coral reef system in the world outside of Australia, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996, but was placed on the World Heritage Sites in Danger list due to years of pollution and damage caused by oil drilling and exploitative fishing practices. UNESCO, at its latest meeting in Bahrain, declared that strong conservation efforts by NGOs and the government of Belize have helped restore the reef to a more sustainable condition.

The reef plays an important role in Belize’s tourism industry as well as a responsibly managed fishing industry. The reef is a top destination for tourists coming to the country to enjoy Belize vacations as its crystal clear waters and abundance of marine life are ideal for marine activities like fishing, sailing, scuba diving, and snorkeling.

“We loudly and enthusiastically celebrate the news that the Belize Barrier Reef is on the mend,” said Larry France, marketing manager of Chabil Mar Resort. “As a resort located just a few miles offshore from this UNESCO World Heritage Site, we urge all of our guests to partake in one of our Belize Barrier Reef tours to experience magnificent natural landmark for themselves.”

Chabil Mar is a luxury Belize resort offering Belize vacation packages to all of the top destinations in the country, including snorkeling and scuba diving on the reef.

On April 24, 2017, the influential news channel CNN published a list of UNESCO World Heritage sites to visit. Published on the travel section of its popular news site CNN.com, the article written by Jen Rose Smith presented a snapshot of eight of the 55 UNESCO World Heritages currently classified as being “in danger,” including the Belize Barrier Reef.

Seven of the sites featured in the CNN article are on dry land, including the Everglades area of southern Florida and areas in Central and South America devastated by war and civil unrest. The Belize Barrier Reef is unique in that it is the only marine World Heritage site to be included in the article, a vast chain of beautiful islands, crystal clear water, coral reefs, and sandy atolls.

The Belize Barrier Reef is part of the second-largest barrier reef in the world after Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Measuring more than 200 miles from north to south, the Belize reef includes picture-postcard-perfect islands with palm trees, white sand beaches, and tranquil lagoons that are ideal for stand-up paddling, kayaking, swimming, scuba diving, and snorkeling.

Other world-class destinations on the Belize Barrier Reef include Shark Ray Alley, a section of the enormous Hol Chan Marine Reserve that is a natural cut in the reef where vast schools of harmless nurse sharks and stingrays transit from the deep ocean to the gentler interior side of the Caribbean. The reef is also home to several protected nature areas, including Laughing Bird Caye National Park, one of the top places to snorkel and bird watch in the country.

Another famous feature of the reef is the Belize Blue Hole. Measuring some 300 meters across (985 feet), the Belize Blue Hole was created more than 10,000 years ago when rising waters at the end of the Ice Age submerged a vast series of caverns and caves. Famed French marine biologist Jacques Cousteau declared the Belize Blue Hole to be one of his top 10 favorite diving spots when he explored the area in 1971.

Chabil Mar

Chabil Mar is an award-winning resort located on the Caribbean coast of the Placencia Peninsula in southern Belize. Chabil Mar features elegantly appointed villas, a gourmet restaurant, a lush tropical garden, and a seafront pier ideal for enjoying meals under the stars.

The resort is conveniently located just a few miles from the Belize Barrier Reef and offer guests Belize vacation packages that include scuba diving and snorkeling on the reef. Chabil Mar also organizes diving and snorkeling tours during the springtime to see migrating whale sharks that visit Belize each year near Gladden Spit on the reef.

Visit our website chabilmarvillas.com for more information on Belize, and don’t hesitate to send us an email, or call US/CAN Toll Free: 1-866-417-2377, Local: (011-501) 523-3606, if you have questions or need help in planning a Belize vacation.

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Today Belize is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its Barrier Reef System being inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

To commemorate the momentous occasion, a World Heritage Site Forum will be held at the Bliss Institute of Performing Arts in Belize City from 7:00-9:00 p.m tonight.

The Belize Barrier Reef System was dubbed a UNESCO World Heritage Site in December 1996. The Belize Barrier Reef System is the largest barrier reef complex in the Northern and Western Hemisphere and is also  the second largest barrier reef system in the  world. It provides habitat to a plethora of migratory birds and threatened marine species such as the West Indian manatee, the American crocodile and marine turtles.

Belizeans  in the Tourism and Fisheries Sector have relied greatly on the reef for their livelihood. Comprised of seven marine protected areas which make up 12 percent of the entire reef  complex of Belize, the seven sites include: Bacalar Chico National Park and Marine Reserve, the world famous Blue Hole Natural Monument, Half Moon Caye Natural Monument, South Water Caye Marine  Reserve, Glover’s Reef Marine Reserve, Laughing Bird Caye National Park and the Sapodilla  Cayes Marine Reserve.

Larry France, Marketing Manager of Chabil Mar Resort on the scenic Placencia peninsula said the 20th anniversary of Belize’s Barrier Reef being designated a World Heritage Site is a cause for celebration.

“Chabil Mar takes great pride in promoting sustainable eco-tourism practices and contributing to the welfare of the Belize’s Barrier Reef, he added.

Chabil Mar offers a variety of tours and packages that includes snorkeling and scuba diving the pristine barrier reef and has partnered with the award winning dive centers of Placencia village to provide a bountiful combination of luxury accommodations, resort amenities and dive services.

Travelers who wish to enjoy the beauties and wonders of Belize will definitely enjoy a stay at Chabil Mar.

Visit our website chabilmarvillas.com for more information on Belize, and don’t hesitate to send us an email, or call US/CAN Toll Free: 1-866-417-2377, Local: (011-501) 523-3606, if you have questions or need help in planning a Belize barrier reef vacation.

Long known by residents and visitors as one of the most spectacularly beautiful ecosystems in the world, the Belize Barrier Reef was recently seen from a brand new angle when NASA astronaut Jeff Williams, currently on assignment aboard the International Space Station, posted high-resolution photographs of the reef on his Twitter feed.

The gorgeous color photograph taken from space pictures the entire Belizean coastline with the reef clearly visible. “Beautiful Belize coastal waters,” wrote Jeff Williams alongside the photograph. The next few pictures posted by the intrepid astronaut showed Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker, commenting, “Fantastic Belize barrier reefs!”

If you’d like to experience the wondrous beauty of the Belize Barrier Reef from a much closer distance, the resort of Chabil Mar in Placencia offers comprehensive scuba diving and snorkeling packages that include lodging and guided trips to some of the best places to swim, dive and snorkel along the reef.