ENG - UN CC:Learn

LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
BELIZE
MDG7
Progress Towards Environmental Sustainability
Belize is home to some of the most important coastal resources, but risks
from pollutants, habitat destruction, tourism and natural events threaten
the sustainability of these resources. Belize has established Marine
Protected areas that represent 13% of the land area and has enacted legislation
to protect its coastal and marine resources. The protected areas
system comprises national parks, nature reserves, wildlife sanctuaries,
natural monuments, forest reserves, marine reserves, archaeological sites
and archaeological reserves, as well as private reserves, strategic biological
corridors and scenic landscapes of geomorphic significance.
For many years Belize was able to maintain a significant portion of its land mass in forest - 69% in 2002 - a figure which doubles most
developing countries’forest area and is greater than the average for the Latin American and Caribbean Region. However, statistics reveal
that the forest area is declining at a rapid rate. For example, in just ten years, the percentage of land mass covered by forests decreased
from 79% to 69%.Timber production alone increased by 86% between 2000 and 2002 due to the worst pine beetle infestation the country
has ever experienced.
Agriculture is the most extensive form of land use in Belize and increased to 77% between 1996 and 1998, occurring at a rate of 9%
per annum. At this rate, it is estimated that by 2025, all suitable agricultural lands will be under cultivation.
Belize will have to conduct policy and legislative review to catalogue environmental regulations and policies with a view to ensuring
QUICK FACTS
CURRENT PORTFOLIO BUDGET
Total UNDP-GEF and Co-Finance: $10,283,200
Total MPU and Bilateral: $64,879
Total: $10,348,079
Cumulative Total ODS Phased-Out:
5.8 ODP tonnes
GUATEMALA
Belize City
BELIZE
Punta Gorda
better coordination, management and enforcement. Moreover,
Belize will need to increase community participation in environmental
management initiatives as one of the main strategies for reversing
loss of resources. This should entail sharing the responsibilities and
authority with local governments, community based organizations,
private sector and vulnerable groups in the monitoring of the country’s
resources.
Currently, a significant portion of monitoring and sustainability initiatives
are driven by external funding and technical support. Belize
will have to invest more of its own resources to ensure long term
sustainability of many of the initiatives and to improve its prospects
for achieving MDG 7 for environmental sustainability. 1
UNDP’s Equator Initiative awarded TIDE with a US$ 30,000 grant in 2002, in recognition of their outstanding community efforts for
poverty reduction and biodiversity conservation. The grant will be used to complete a much-needed community-learning centre
and open a natural resources library. The center will hold community and advisory board meetings where community-based
organizations meet with NGOs and governmental representatives. The centre is intended to be a neutral space for community
BIODIVERSITY
members to come and openly discuss issues affecting their community.The natural resources library will fill an information gap in
the area, by providing information and eventually internet access to community members and school children. It is expected that
the library will be a central point for environmental data collection in the Toledo District and Southern Region of Belize.
MEXICO
Corozal
Orange Walk
Belmopan
Caribbean
Sea
SPOTLIGHT
Protecting Natural Resources through Conservation and Sustainable Development 2
Toledo is the southernmost district of Belize and is rich in biodiversity. Growing threats to the district’s
environment from activities such as manatee poaching, illegal fishing and logging, destructive farming
methods, and other types of unsustainable development initiated the formation of the Toledo Institute
for Development and Environment (TIDE) in 1997, which was awarded a grant from UNDP’s Equator
Prize in 2002.
TIDE works in some of the poorest areas of Belize and through the Maya Mountain Marine Sustainable
Livelihoods Initiative, collaborates with local communities to promote sustainable income generation and biodiversity conservation.
TIDE has focused much of its poverty reduction efforts on certification programs and training, including an on-going
programme to train and certify fly-fishing guides and an "ECO-OK" certification project for sustainably produced local timber.
The project also supports micro-enterprises and ecotourism training that generates community income.Through promotion of
participatory co-management of natural resources and development of community monitoring, the project has also reduced
poaching of endangered manatees, the practice of gillnetting, and illegal hunting and logging.
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