Collaborators
The success of MCCAP is enabled through integrated partnerships with Non-Governmental and Governmental Organisations
Belize Audubon Society
Belize Audubon Society (BAS) is the oldest environmental NGO in Belize and is a membership-based organisation dedicated to the sustainable management of natural resources through leadership and strategic partnerships with stakeholders for the benefit of people and the environment.
They currently work in 7 national protected areas and focus on protecting Belize’s natural resources while educating the public about their value and sustainable use. BAS strive to be a national conservation leader and development partner that inspires people to live in harmony and benefit from the environment.
BAS
Belize Forest Department
The Forest Department is a leading modern and committed government agency with a well trained, accountable and professional staff efficiently coordinating resources for the sustainable management of Belize’ Natural Resources, while proactively contributing to the achievement of local, regional and global goals for present and future generations.
The Belize Forest Department oversees the sustainable management of Belize's forest resources.
The scope of management has changed through the years from exploitation and administration to biodiversity management and social and community forestry.
FoD
Coastal Zone Management Authority and Institute
The Authority is an autonomous public statutory body charged with the responsibility of implementing and monitoring policies that govern the use and development of the coastal zone in Belize.
In 1998, the Coastal Zone Management Act was passed by government to respond to diversification of use of coastal land and the resulting increase in demand among other challenges such as rapid development, over fishing and population growth.
The Coastal Zone Management Authority and Institute (CZMAI) was established that same year and mandated to work with a broad scope of partners and stakeholders to produce an Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) Plan for Belize to mitigate any adverse effects to Belize’s coastal resources and ensure their sustainable development. The ICZM Plan was completed and ratified by Cabinet in 2016 and is now being socialized by the CZMAI to all partners and stakeholders around the country whose work or development interest falls under the broad remit of the ICZM Plan.
CZMAI
Turneffe Atoll Sustainability Association
A Non-Governmental Organization Environmental Conservation Organization TASA co-manages Turneffe Atoll Marine Reserve, the largest marine reserve in Belize declared in November 22nd-2012.
Stakeholders of Turneffe Atoll are a diverse and multi-talented group offering a wide range of skills and capacities crucial to the effective management of the Reserve. Their collective goal was the establishment and operation of a marine reserve that would act as a model for all marine reserves in Belize, the region and the world. The Reserve was expected to be economically and environmental sustainability while providing sustainable economic and social benefits for its stakeholder community.
TASA
Wildlife Conservation Society
WCS saves wildlife and wild places
worldwide through science,
conservation action, education, and
inspiring people to value nature.
We envision a world where wildlife
thrives in healthy lands and seas, valued
by societies that embrace and benefit
from the diversity and integrity of life on earth.
Our goal is to conserve the world's largest wild places in 14 priority regions, home to more than 50% of the planet's biodiversity.
We could never do this work and achieve these results without the collaboration and support of hundreds of partners. With offices across the globe, WCS is well positioned to engage with representatives of government and civil society whose goals align with our science-based conservation mission.
Today, more than 150,000 students participate in classes, tours, and outreach programs each year at our four zoos and our aquarium.
WCS
Sarteneja Alliance for Conservation and Development
SACD, as a community-oriented NGO, is dedicated to ensuring effective management and good stewardship of Corozal Bay Wildlife Sanctuary in the larger seascape, in partnership with its stakeholder communities. Sarteneja, a traditional fishing village situated in the Corozal District, serves as the base of operations for SACD.
SACD along with the Forestry Department co-manages the Corozal Bay Wildlife Sanctuary (CBWS) in partnership with the Forestry Department.
SACD
Sponsors
"We are grateful for the financial support of the Project's Sponsors. Without their funding MCCAP would not have been able to as deeply empower our coastal communities towards a sustainable future."
Protected Areas Conservation Trust
PACT is a strategic partner in funding, management and sustainable development of Belize's natural and cultural resources for the benefit of Belizeans and the global community.
In 1996, Belize was considered a pioneer with the passing of the PACT Act. Today, the protected areas landscape continues to take shape and expand. Currently there are 103 protected areas that form a vast national protected areas system (NPAS), with categories that encompass forest reserves, nature reserves, national parks, marine reserves, private reserves, wildlife sanctuaries, natural monuments, bird sanctuaries, spawning aggregation reserves and archaeological reserves.
Since its establishment, PACT has grown in its capacity and is now an accredited national implementing entity (NIE) for the Adaptation Fund and has also been granted fiduciary roles for such agencies as the World Bank, the Meso-American Reef Fund (MAR Fund), the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Belize Nature Conservation Fund (BNCF). In October 2015, the amended PACT legislation was passed and like the PACT Act before it, it represents a bold step in the direction of actualizing and accommodating the needs of the country’s protected areas system.
In October 2003, the Government of Belize established a Task Force, chaired by PACT, to oversee the formulation of a national protected areas policy and system plan (NPAPSP) for Belize. The NPAPSP project commenced in April 2004 and sought to develop a comprehensive policy and system plan for Belize’s protected areas. The Policy Plan and the Systems Plan were approved by the Government of Belize on November 29, 2005 and January 10, 2006 respectively.
The aim is to create a National Protected Areas System in which all important sites are included in one coherent framework.
PACT redistributes its revune throughout the National Protected Areas System (NPAS) by providing funding for projects that support conservation and promote environmentally sound management of Belize’s natural and cultural resources. The areas for which projects can be funded must fall under one or more of the following priority areas: Protected Areas Management and Conservation; Protected Areas Promotion and Development; Environmental Education and Awareness; and Community Development around Protected Areas.
As a national conservation trust, the affairs of PACT are controlled and managed by a Board of Directors. The Board comprise of Directors from public, private and non-governmental sectors. Together, the Board of Directors uphold the main tenets of the Trust which is to demonstrate transparency, equity and accountability. The function of the Board is to implement policies that will guarantee the long term sustainability of the Trust as well as ensure that trust funds are distributed wisely and effectively across the national protected areas system.
To date, PACT has invested over BZ$ 33 million dollars in protected areas management in Belize through the awarding of grants. Additional sources of revenues for the Trust include 20% on concession arrangements within the protected areas, 20% of all recreation-related licence fees and permit fees collected in conjunction with protected areas and donations.
PACT
The World Bank Group
The World Bank Group has set two goals for the world to achieve by 2030:
- End extreme poverty by decreasing the percentage of people living on less than $1.90 a day to no more than 3%
- Promote shared prosperity by fostering the income growth of the bottom 40% for every country
WBG
Adaptation Fund
Climate change is predicted to greatly affect the poorest people in the world, who are often hardest hit by weather catastrophes, desertification, and rising sea levels, but who have contributed the least to the problem of global warming. As the climate changes, seemingly small increases in average global temperatures are already transforming the lives of millions of people worldwide, from South America to Africa, Asia to tiny Pacific islands. In some parts of the world, climate change has already contributed to worsening food security, reduced the predictable availability of fresh water, and exacerbated the spread of disease and other threats to human health.
The Adaptation Fund finances projects and programmes that help vulnerable communities in developing countries adapt to climate change. Initiatives are based on country needs, views and priorities.
Helping the most vulnerable countries and communities is an increasing challenge and imperative for the international community, especially because climate adaptation requires significant resources beyond what is already needed to achieve international development objectives.
In 2007, 187 countries emphasized the need for adaptation by finalizing the establishment of the Adaptation Fund under the Bali Action Plan of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) defines adaptation as “adjustment in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects, which moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities.” The IPCC further distinguishes between different types of adaptation: anticipatory vs. reactive, private vs. public, and autonomous vs. planned.
- Anticipatory adaptation takes place before impacts of climate change are observed
- Autonomous adaptation does not constitute a conscious response to climatic stimuli but is triggered by ecological changes in natural systems and by market or welfare changes in human systems
- Planned adaptation is the result of a deliberate policy decision, based on an awareness that conditions have changed or are about to change and that action is required to return to, maintain, or achieve a desired state
AF
