The Department of the Environment (DOE) convened a key stakeholder meeting today to advance the update of Belize’s National Wastewater Policy. The aim is to strengthen wastewater management and safeguard environmental and public health.
Participants included representatives from government agencies, the private sector, academia, and civil society. Together, they are working to address longstanding challenges in wastewater treatment and disposal, which continue to pose serious risks to Belize’s rivers, groundwater, and coastal ecosystems.
As Belize’s population grows, so does the demand for clean water and the risk of untreated wastewater polluting the environment. While the country has made progress, the DOE acknowledges the need for a more comprehensive and modernised policy.
The revised National Wastewater Policy will expand to cover industrial and agricultural wastewater and include climate adaptation measures that align with both national goals and international environmental standards.
The updated policy is especially critical to protecting the country’s drinking water sources, such as rivers and wells, and to reducing waterborne diseases linked to polluted water.