Conservation Leaders Unite at ECOLNES Summit 2026

Conservation takes center stage in Belize City today, as leaders from across the country, and beyond, gather at the Civic Centre for the ECOLens Summit 2026. Hosted by PACT and the Belize Fund for a Sustainable Future, the event brings together voices from every corner of the sector to take stock of Belize’s conservation goals and the challenges ahead. News Five’s Britney Gordon reports.

 

Britney Gordon, Reporting

Conservation took center stage today as one hundred and fifty community leaders gathered in Belize City for the ECOLens Summit 2026. The event brought together government officials, NGOs, academics, and grassroots groups to measure how far Belize has come in meeting global biodiversity goals. Organized by PACT and the Belize Fund for a Sustainable Future, the summit highlighted how collaboration strengthens real solutions for both people and the environment. Minister Orlando Habet says that kind of teamwork is exactly what drives meaningful change.

 

Orlando Habet, Minister of Sustainable Development, Climate Change & Solid Waste Management

“Since we have PACT within the Ministry, PACT has been very instrumental in the organization of the ECOLENS Summit, but also participatory because they assist in securing climate financing. Through adaptation Fund, the Green Climate Fund, and they assist in getting that fund to co-managers to co-manage some of our protected areas, both terrestrial and marine. And so it is very important that we recognize the partnership that exists among all the players.”

 

Belize is steadily moving toward its conservation targets, including the goal of protecting 30 percent of its ocean by 2030, but officials say more work is needed to stay on track. Minister of Blue Economy Andre Perez says real progress starts with keeping people at the heart of every conservation effort.

 

Andre Perez, Minister of Blue Economy and Marine Conservation

“Sometimes we tend to focus on legislation. That’s how Minister Habet mentioned, we’re talking about in my speech as well. I spoke about having all the different bodies working, all the NGOs, all the scientists, everybody. But in the end it is our focus around people. The livelihoods matter, and that is important at this point in time. We make drastic changes for conservation, but at the same time to grow in a way that nobody’s left behind. And we’re talking about everyone else that we are included so that whenever we leave office and when the people, we generations to come, the, our waters in our forests are gonna be in a much better place than it is right now.”

 

The summit zeroed in on key challenges, stronger enforcement across protected areas, science‑based management, and closing the funding gap for marine conservation. This year marks PACT’s thirtieth anniversary and the Belize Fund’s fourth, and PACT Executive Director Abil Castañeda says that milestone teamwork is exactly what sparked the partnership between the country’s two major climate finance bodies.

 

Abil Castañeda, Executive Director, Protected Areas Conservation Trust

“It was important for us to come together as the two contribution trust funds in the country. And bring those that are doing their work, bring those that are doing the amazing jobs out there that go on tool and to give them a space to share with us what they’re doing, to share with us what are some of the challenges they are seeing on the ground, but more importantly for us to begin to dream what the next thirty years will be. Thirty years ago, Belize started what we can, minister Habet mentioned as the golden age of conservation. But we believe that we are in the beginning of a new age, and so it is that time for us to begin to push the buttons that we need to push so that we can have an idea of what thirty years later looks like for conservation in Belize.”

 

The all day, event included keynote addresses, panel discussions, and an interactive marketplace showcasing sustainable livelihood initiatives. Dr. Leandra Cho-Ricketts, Executive Director of the Belize Fund, shared her optimism for the future of conservation in Belize.

 

Dr. Leandra Cho-Ricketts, Executive Director, B.F.S.F.

“From the space where  we are working from the fund and the support we give we are very optimistic about what has happened so far, and the potential that exists for what’s to come especially the direction that the government is taking along with its partners to really take things beyond just the protecting the thirty by thirty. But as you heard, the ministers, both ministers speak to advancing beyond that know, achieving effective management. And so that’s a big focus of the fund in supporting effective management of these areas.”

 

The ECOLens Summit was designed to bring stakeholders together and drive collective action for protecting Belize’s biodiversity. Britney Gordon for News Five.

 

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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