The Ministry of Sustainable Development and Climate Change, through the National Climate Change Office (NCCO), has extended its Climate Risk Information System (CRIS) training in Belize. This initiative, supported by the Ministry of Economic Development (MED), the University of Belize (UB), and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), took place at the Jaguar Building in Belmopan. The training was funded by the IDB.
CRIS focuses on the collection, analysis, and dissemination of essential climate data. The recent training aimed to enhance the capabilities of agriculture field officers and other key stakeholders. It also provided important insights into the use of CRIS in the tourism and agriculture sectors, helping participants understand its practical applications.
The collaboration between NCCO and its partners aims to enhance climate resilience and sustainability in Belize. The training is designed to support informed decision-making and strengthen the country’s ability to manage climate-related challenges.
Annabelle Carlson, 15, from Aspen, Colorado, is now receiving medical care in her home country. The teenage girl was injured in a shark attack while scuba diving between Hot Caye and Halfmoon Caye in Belize.
Carlson was flown to Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, where she remains in paediatric intensive care and is scheduled for at least one more surgery on her leg.
A family friend launched a GoFundMe page to support Carlson’s recovery journey. The page said, “On a family vacation to Belize, Annabelle was scuba diving with a tour group and her family. After she was finished scuba diving and was on the boat, she jumped back into the water for a swim. That’s when the unimaginable encounter happened. The odds are 1 in 11.5 million that this could happen. That unimaginable encounter was a shark attack. It was a very aggressive, very traumatic, terror-filled fight for her life.”
It continued, “Annabelle was able to fight off the attack as best as she could but was critically injured in the fight. The emergency responders in Belize acted very quickly. She was airlifted by helicopter to a trauma medical center in Belize City. The quick action from the emergency response team in Belize saved her life. They were able to stabilise her, at which point she was medically flown to the United States and is currently receiving care at the top trauma center. Annabelle will have a very long road of recovery ahead of her.”
The GoFundMe page aims to fundraise its $250,000 USD goal. A total of $155,288 USD has been raised so far.
Belize is hosting this year’s Caribbean Broadcast Union’s 55th Annual General Assembly in Placencia from August 11–14. The keynote speaker is Belize’s Prime Minister, John Briceño. The AGM is being held under the theme ‘Media and the Environment’.
The opening ceremony takes place tonight at the Naia Resort and Spa and will be broadcast by Great Belize Productions (News 5). The 35th Caribbean Media Awards is scheduledto take place on Tuesday night at the same venue.
In 2024, the CBU Secretariat set a new record, receiving 484 submissions across 63 categories from 34 organisations representing 13 countries and territories in the Dutch, English, and Spanish Caribbean.
The single outlet with the highest number of nominations is Great Belize Productions Limited. GBPL’s television service, Channel 5, garnered twenty-five (25) nominations.
One of the sponsors of this year’s CBU award is the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC). The Centre is sponsoring seven climate change categories. “The CCCCC’s sponsorship underscores its commitment to promoting climate change education and advocacy through diverse media channels.”
“The CCCCC is proud to support these CBU awards to celebrate media excellence in climate change,” said Dr. Colin Young, Executive Director of the CCCCC. In addition to the awards, the CCCCC, in collaboration with the CBU, is hosting a regional media forum on climate change on August 12. This forum encourages more extensive coverage of climate issues, underscoring the media’s vital role in climate reporting. Participants for the forum began arriving in Belize on Saturday. On Sunday, the group travelled to Laughing Bird Caye off the coast of Placencia to familiarise themselves with the work that Fragments of Hope is doing, specifically coral restoration at different sites.
Fragments of Hope is a community-based organisation in Placencia, Belize, dedicated to the restoration of coral reef habitats and the sustainable management of associated ecosystems. They have been particularly successful in their efforts at Laughing Bird Caye National Park, where they have outplanted about 96,000 nursery-grown coral fragments.
Coral bleaching is a significant issue affecting reefs worldwide. It occurs when corals, stressed by changes in conditions such as temperature, light, or nutrients, expel the symbiotic algae living in their tissues, causing them to turn white and often leading to coral death. Fragments of Hope focusses on re-seeding reefs with resilient coral species to help them recover from such events.
Monique Vernon of Fragments of Hope told reporters that the organisation employs several methods to restore corals. “Right now, the one we are focussing on is using cement. We would mix cement. Put those in those ziploc bags and then we would have divers waiting for those with corals. Basically, it’s going and finding a sturdy area…there is a criteria how we go about selecting a site to restore. Once all of that is checked we go to that site and basically, we take the same cement, put it on a study dead coral and then we attach a live fragmented coral in that.” Monitoring efforts continue.
The Caribbean journalists also had the opportunity to snorkel and see first-hand the works of Fragments of Hope.
