Earlier in the news, you heard Belize Rural South Area Rep Andre Perez discussing the hurricane preparedness of San Pedro and Caye Caulker communities.
That press encounter happened during the official launch of 2 policy documents from his Ministry. They're called the Belize Blue Economy Policy and Strategy and the Belize Maritime Economy Plan. The Ministry of the Blue Economy and the wider government are celebrating these documents as a significant milestone for a Ministry that did not exist before the Briceno Administration took office.
But, to properly administer all of the resources that come under the Blue Economy model, the Ministry wants a masterplan that clearly identifies them all, the rules and best practices to govern them, and what kind of private sector developments will be allowed to operate in their area of jurisdiction.
For part one of our coverage, we take you to San Pedro Town, at the Grand Caribe Resort, where the ceremonial launch happened. Here are a few excerpts from the main speakers:
Kennedy Carillo - CEO, Ministry of the Blue Economy & Civil Aviation
"As we sit out here northeast of the country's mainland, on the largest island of Belize - I'd say about 25 miles long from north to south, and one mile wide with the world's largest living Barrier Reef less than a mile away, we can't help but think we could not be in a better place this morning."
H.E. Nicole Davidson - British High Commissioner
"By virtue of your geographical location, Belizeans are the stewards for the largest barrier reef in the northern hemisphere, a number of offshore atolls, several hundred sand keys, mangrove forests, coastal lagoons, and estuaries - many of which I hope to visit [in] my time here. And together, these systems are significant habitats for a number of threatened species, as well as an important component of your tourism offer. This makes having strategic plans in place for harnessing your natural resources while simultaneously protecting them even more critical. The Maritime Economy plan being launched today was developed as part of the UK Commonwealth Marine Economies Program. The program delivered on the UK's commitment to small island developing states to help them navigate the challenges of climate change and build sustainable ocean economies."
Ian King - Deputy Resident Representative, UNDP
"We have worked to support biodiversity here through the BIOFIN initiative and through other initiatives supportive of the broader natural terrestrial network, including climate change. We have worked, including through the Small Grants Program, which has been here for over 30 years - or 30 years this year with coastal communities and CBOs, NGOs such as TASA, in addressing the maintenance and management of those of biodiversity, but also in terms of critically in terms of livelihoods. And so, we want to reiterate how important it is this event that we are today. I, therefore, want to thank them and congratulate the Ministry of Blue Economy and Civil Aviation, the Minister, the CEO, and your staff for what you are achieving here today. And we look forward to continued support to you and the country in this most important of initiatives."
Abner Andre Perez - Minister of the Blue Economy & Civil Aviation
"In the not-so-distant future, our ocean will support emerging economic sectors in Belize, such as marine renewable energy, marine biotechnology, sustainable fisheries, and ecotourism, and continue to contribute to our social and cultural values as a people. It is for this reason that we must live up to our social and legal mandate to ensure that the decisions we make today will guarantee food security, income security, environmental and public health, and safety, as well as climate resilience and disaster risk management."
John Briceno - Prime Minister
"As I was listening to Andre speaking so eloquently about the Blue Economy, I remember when I was just appointing him as a minister for the blue economy, and he looked at me and says? Well, what is a blue economy? He said, is it just fisheries? You know, he felt that probably, I was not giving him an important ministry. And I told him, Andre, go and look at what the Blue Economy is all about, what it all encompasses. And since that time, he has become quite a believer in the Blue Economy and working very hard to ensure that we can set up the first-ever Blue Economy in Belize."
Kennedy Carillo
"When we took up the mantle to build Belize's first-ever Ministry of Blue Economy, we immediately recognized the need for a well-crafted national policy and plan, a vision, and clearly demarcating the part for the use of our ocean space and resources. Last week, we launched the process to develop our Belize Sustainable Ocean Plan, a process that will clearly define what we can and we can't do in our blue space. This marine spatial plan will be an integral tool in the implementation of the National Blue Economy Strategy, as well as our Maritime Economy Plan, which we are proudly launching today."
Tune in tomorrow, when we'll show what these policy documents seek to do and why Minister thinks that they will allow governments to better navigate complex development proposals like Cayo Rosario, which is inside a conservation zone.
