Pressure from international and local environmental groups mounted this month as a Canadian-owned power company in Belize prepared to file its environmental-impact assessment for a controversial dam project. The government and the power company say construction of the $30 million, 8-megawatt dam would help satisfy Belize’s growing demand for power and lower its high electricity prices. But environmentalists believe the dam is not economically viable and would flood important wilderness that includes habitat for endangered species. The Chalillo dam, to be built on the Macal river in western Belize’s Maya mountains, would flood 3.7 square miles (9.5 sq. kms) of forest, including portions of two protected areas. It would be located upstream of the 25-megawatt Mollejon dam and would serve to... [Log in to read more]