CFZM, Fisheries and Foundation to Promote Reef Resilience

The Coastal Zone Management Authority and Institute, in partnership with the Fisheries Department and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, has launched the Resilient Reefs Initiative in Belize. It’s a global project created to support five of the world’s most valued World Heritage reef sites. The goal is to bring together local communities, reef managers, and resilience experts to build develop new solutions for combating the effects of climate change and other local threats.  Next steps for the Initiative are stakeholder engagement and resilience assessment, to identify priorities for building resilience in Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System and coastal communities that depend on reef resources. Belize has named Kalene Eck to assume the role of Chief Resilience Officer. The Initiative has also committed over seven hundred thousand USD dollars to implement priority actions in Belize.