WWF Celebrates Builders Who Protect Mangroves

Belizeans are rewriting the rulebook on coastal development, showing that you don’t have to bulldoze nature to build something beautiful. This weekend, the World Wildlife Fund celebrated exactly that at the 2025 Mangrove Friendly Development Challenge, where property owners, resorts, and community groups were honored for projects that work with mangroves instead of wiping them out. WWF’s senior program officer, Nadia Bood, says the shift is critical because most of Belize’s mangroves sit on private land. That means the future of these natural storm barriers depends largely on the choices of individual landowners. And those choices don’t have to be destructive. “They can still have something beautiful and functional,” Bood said, “if they integrate the mangroves into their landscape design rather than clear‑cutting and putting up a concrete seawall.” And she made a point many coastal residents know too well: seawalls fail. One strong storm, and a concrete barrier can crack or collapse. Mangroves, on the other hand, bend, recover, and keep protecting the shoreline.

 

 

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