Developing a National Blue Economy Strategy

This week during Coastal Awareness Week there is a series of activities, including virtual sessions and panel discussions. Included among these was a session on the Ministry of Blue Economy, which is the first for the region. The mission is to have a productive, resilient and vibrant blue economy in Belize that is contributing substantially to the socio-economic well-being of the country and its people. And to improve the livelihood of all Belizeans, there must be a robust, science-based management of Belize’s aquatic resources and space.  During today’s virtual session, Coordinator and Liaison Officer from the Ministry of Blue Economy, Emile Gomez spoke about the national blue economy framework for the country.

Voice of: Emile Gomez, Coordinator & Liaison Officer, Ministry of Blue Economy

“We are very aware that blue economy is a multi-faceted sector and it interlinks with all these different interactions within the environment and it doesn’t just come on its own. So as a ministry, we have highlighted the follow sectors or interests that we want to work on. These include aquaculture, blue carbon, renewable energy, fisheries, marine research and development, ocean and coastal tourism, maritime shipping and transport, marine protection management. At the ministry, we have been working diligently to complete our national blue economy five-year strategy and plan/the maritime economy plan for Belize in partnership with the UK government and the objective is to grow the national economy such that the country becomes economical resilience and less reliant on financial aid. So it is intended to reflect the aims of the Commonwealth Charter and have highlighted key sectors for development. When it comes to coastal development, our aim is to have a fully integrated coastal zone management plan so that it can be applied for the decision-making processes for all coastal developments and so that we can have climate-resilience coast available for protection of the life and properties for coastal risk and climate change and that the ecosystem services are fully integrated in what is the decision-making-process.”