Belize Completes Snapshot Report on State of Environment   

Today is internationally recognized as World Environment Day. A day that encourages awareness and action for the protection of the environment. In alignment with this occasion, the Department of the Environment, the University of Belize, and the United Nations Environment Program have jointly launched the GEO Belize 2024 report which provides a comprehensive diagnosis on the state of Belize’s environment. News Five’s Britney Gordon attended the launch earlier today for a more detailed look at what the report entails. Here’s more on that.

 

Britney Gordon, reporting 

It’s been fourteen years since Belize released the first environment outlook report back in 2010 with the United Nations Environment Program. Now with assistance from the University of Belize, the new state of environment report is here. Doctor Francesco Gaetani, Regional Coordinator of the U.N.E.P. told us that that the report is more than just a book, but an aid to strengthening the science policy interface of a country.

 

Dr. Francesco Gaetani, Regional Coordinator, United Nations Environment Program

“A process meaning creating the conditions where different representatives with different mandates from different ministries and departments of the government, the states, they meet, they work together, they share data and information along with the University of Belize, of course, which is a critical actor for that. And all together, they create the understanding and the knowledge that is the basis to implement any kind of policy response or policy action to reduce environmental degradation, air pollution. We’ve seen in these days, fires and their effects on human health and on ecosystems. But for these to be, something concrete. It’s really important that all this knowledge, all this information, all this data is part of the same process.”

 

The University of Belize played a key part in the creation of this report. Doctor Vincent Palacio, president of the university, shared his excitement over the opportunity.

 

Dr. Vincent Palacio, President, UB

“It is a big day for our science faculty. The University of Belize partnered with the Department of the Environment and U.N.E.P. in preparing this report. It’s fourteen years since we did the first one, so this is the second one. And our faculty from the science and technology unit took on this responsibility and developed this program this actual report. So we’re very proud.”

 

 

 

 

Palacio explained that because faculty members are required to conduct research to promote it within their tracks, the opportunity for the university to partner on the report was ideal.

 

Dr. Vincent Palacio

“There are several topic areas in the report that required different authors. So we looked within the university for, at our faculty members with their specialties. And we do have persons in soil biology, persons in all types of areas that is needed for the report. So, we brought them to the table and together they worked to develop the final report.”

 

 

 

The GEO Belize 2024 provides a holistic overview of the environment through five data points: driver, pressure, state, impact, and response, focusing not only on the impacts or the state of the environment, but also the causes. Gaetani explained that analyzing all these factors is necessary to reduce these impacts on ecosystems and human health.

 

 

 

 

Dr. Francesco Gaetani

“The most important part here, I think, is the analysis on the drivers. The drivers are processes or dynamics that are not controlled.  By the governments, by in general, by humans,  which are essentially relating to macroeconomics processes and dynamics like markets, but also to demography for instance. So in the case of the Caribbean and also central America being Belize, a bridge between the two regions, a very important driver is the tourist, for instance.”

 

 

 

The report will be used to assist government agencies and other stakeholder organizations in formulating solutions to environmental concerns in the country. Ramon Cervantez, Minister of Sustainable Development and Climate Change revealed what points stood out to the ministry in the report.

 

 

 

 

 

Ramon Cervantez, Minister of Sustainable Development Climate Change

“That we need to do some more work for example in in forest cover, for example, which is being you could say depleted a little, by attrition, really when, by agriculture, which are good things, in a way it’s progress. Things like agriculture, infrastructure. And other projects like that those, many of those projects take the depletion of some forest cover and that is what we have to do. Also the mangroves, which we need to address more so that we are mindful of it and keep protecting it.”

 

Britney Gordon for News Five.