Belize’s Maritime Economy Plan Underway

A maritime economy plan is being developed for the country through a partnership between the Belize Coastal Zone Management Authority and Institute and the United Kingdom’s Commonwealth Marine Economies Programme.  Launched in 2017, the Programme by the British government supports seventeen Commonwealth Small Island Developing States including  Belize.  The plan identifies the potential of developing the marine economies in a sustainable, resilient and integrated way.  According to Regional Manager Kassia De Santos, the programme is designed to create jobs, drive national economic growth, reduce poverty, ensure food security and build resilience against forces of nature.

Kassia De Santos, CME Regional Manager

Kassia De Santos

“It was discussed with government their interest in developing the plan and they were very much interested. Of course, Belize is far advanced in relations to other countries in the Caribbean in relation to developing their maritime economy, to protecting the coast resources but what we are hoping the plan would do is bring together in one view all the challenges and opportunities and the gaps that exist within the sector and to address those, to create a plan that would give sign post in terms of what direction government should be taking based on the feedback by stakeholders in country. We are keen that the plan is reflective of the country so everything that will be in the plan would be everything that was gathered locally from the stakeholders that we coordinated with, the Belize Coast Zone Management Institute. It was felt that these small islands have more ocean space than land and that the use hasn’t been maximized to economically benefit the country in the way that it could. So in this regard in relation as well to the Blue Charter it was decided that we would help the small island states, eight in the Caribbean that we are working which Belize is one, to  develop their maritime economy in a way that could feed economic development and also be sustainable for the future.”