By Government Press Office | BELIZE
BELMOPAN, Belize – The government of Belize through the ministry of blue economy and civil aviation, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Representative for Jamaica, The Bahamas and Belize, and Belize’s National Designated Authority to the Green Climate Fund (GCF), has successfully held four Climate Change Vulnerability and Livelihood Assessment consultations for the coastal zone and fisheries sector of Belize.
The consultations are a deliverable of the GCF readiness project entitled, “Enhancing adaptation planning and increasing climate resilience in the coastal zone and fisheries sector of Belize.” As part of this stakeholder engagement process, a final validation consultation was held Wednesday in Belize City at the Best Western Biltmore Plaza to present the key findings of the climate vulnerability and livelihoods assessment conducted for the communities of Belize City, Dangriga and San Pedro.
The climate vulnerability and livelihood assessment has identified habitats and ecosystem services with the intention of subsequently developing adaptation strategies for these resources and addressing key management questions of stakeholders. Furthermore, a common understanding of a range of possible future conditions for Belize City, Dangriga and San Pedro, and what those could mean for habitats and ecosystem services have been identified.
The objectives achieved include:
- The gathering of data that will be vital to develop the climate rationale for fisheries and coastal zone projects for the GCF and overall climate change projects;
- Baseline knowledge and understanding of climate trends (current, historic, projected future);
- Vulnerabilities of habitats and ecosystem services to climate change with regards to sensitivity, exposure, and adaptive capacity;
- Climate drivers important for habitats and/or ecosystem services and alternative future scenarios; and
- How alternative future scenarios could impact habitats and/or services.
