Belize Hosts Third Annual Climate Resilience Forum

Climate change isn’t waiting and neither is Belize. As rising temperatures and unpredictable weather continue to impact vulnerable nations like ours, building resilience has become a year-round mission. That’s why today, the Ministry of Blue Economy and Marine Conservation teamed up with NEMO and the Food and Agriculture Organization to host the third annual Climate Resilience Forum. It’s a space where those on the front lines: farmers, fishers, community leaders, come together to talk about the real challenges they’re facing and how to tackle them head-on. We were there this morning to hear what’s being done to protect our people, our resources, and our future.

 

Andre Perez, Minister of Blue Economy & Marine Conservation

“I’m hoping that by the end of the day, this panel discussions will come out with one comprehensive plan. One whereby it’s important that as we move forward, as a small nation. As a small island development state, we must come together and work as one body, to capital these things. And everybody has so much to contribute and putting our resources together, our heads together, that we promote as one unified front and one plant for the rest as the time comes.”

 

Felicia Cruz, Director, Ministry of Blue Economy & Marine Conservation

“It really constitutes representations from a suite of different partners, including our ministry, the National Climate Change Office. And really our goal is to highlight the impacts of climate change in the blue economy and to look at it at different perspectives from the sectoral perspective in terms of tourism and fisheries from the community perspective in terms of the Red Cross and their efforts as well as the National Emergency Management Organization and really how they have helped. In terms of preparedness in the face of hurricanes and other inclement weather that clearly has caused impacts to our coastal areas and to our communities.”