Belize has passed legislation that will permanently suspend all oil activity in its ocean waters.

Belize is home to the longest barrier reef in the Western Hemisphere and the second longest in the world.

 

The suspension of oil activity marks an enormous win for the wildlife that live there and the hundreds of thousands of

Belizeans who rely on the reef for survival. Tourism alone brings in between $182 million to $237 million per year, with reef-related tourism and fisheries supporting about 190,000 people, World Wildlife Fund reports.

 

"Today is a great day for Belize," said Nadia Bood,

Mesoamerican reef scientist at WWF. "Not only has its government listened to calls to protect the Belize Barrier Reef, which only last year was under threat from seismic oil exploration, it has stepped up to become a world leader in ocean protection by ending all oil activity in its waters."