Belize Explores Integrated Approach to Financing for Sustainable Development

Over forty personnel from the public and private sectors came together for a three-day technical workshop aimed at improving development financing and planning to meet Belize’s Sustainable Development Goals and climate objectives. This is being done through the implementation of an Integrated National Financing Framework approach. Considerations are being given to the nation’s SDGs and climate priorities, as well as experiences from other countries. We heard from Tim Strawson, the SDG Finance Advisor at UNDP and Doctor Kenrick Williams, the Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of Sustainable Development.

Tim Strawson

Tim Strawson, SDG Finance Advisor, UNDP

“We have the medium term national development strategy. We have the country’s climate objectives, objectives towards a most sustainable inclusive economic pathway. But, financing is a really important driver for which Belize can realize to objectives for the medium and long-term. So the conversation today has really brought a wide section of actors from across government and private sector partners to talk about how we can build a more inclusive, sustainable finance framework that can drive Belize and invest in Belize towards the goal it wants to achieve.”

Kenrick Williams

Dr. Kenrick Williams, C.E.O., Ministry of Sustainable Development

“The discussion today is on an integrated national financing framework. Essentially what we are looking at is how we can be more targeted in terms of financial resource to achieve our sustainable goals, in a much broader sense. As it relates to the Ministry of Sustainable Development, Climate Change, and Disaster Risk Management, what we are looking for is how is it that we can be strategic with the current resources we have and mobilizing the resources we need in order to achieve of climate goals and broader sustainability goals. And then use those in a targeted strategic manner. The ministry has some experience with this type of framework back in 2016. WE had a team that worked on the biodiversity finance initiative. What we did was look at the finances and institutional structure, where we are spending the money right now and to see how we can be more strategic and targeted in investing that money. So what we found there is that sometimes it is not that we don’t have the money or resources. It is just that we need to be more strategic about where we put that money; how we invest that and ensuring we are getting the kinds of returns on investments.”