On August 25, 2021, the Coastal Zone Management Authority & Institute (CZMAI), a statutory body under the Ministry of Blue and Civil Aviation, hosted a meeting with the Central American Commission on Environment and Development (CCAD) Delegation led by the Executive Secretary, Mr. Jair Urriola Quiroz as a part of the 2021 official mission to Belize from August 22-26, 2021. The objectives of the mission were to follow up on the Regional Environmental Framework Strategy for 2021-2025 (ERAM) with Focal Points of the Technical Committees and Working Groups, as well as to discuss progress on projects in Belize with executing partners.
During the meeting with the CCAD delegation, CZMAI as one of the executing partners presented on the implementation progress of the project “Strengthening Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) Planning in Belize”, which is being supported under Component 3 of a larger regional project entitled, “Integrated Ridge to Reef Management of the Mesoamerican Reef System” (MAR2R). This regional project is aimed at strengthening governance and regional collaboration among countries in the Mesoamerican Reef (MAR) Ecoregion in order to improve water management, coastal and marine resources through the “Ridge to Reef” approach.
The need to strengthen marine spatial planning processes was also discussed since CZMAI has extensive experience in this area and is poised to share its best practices and successes with the countries of the MAR region. Cooperation within the framework of the MAR2R project is providing support for the updating of the Belize Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) Plan (2016) and to support capacity building on ICZM tools at the country level and also for the countries of the MAR region.
The meeting participants included CZMAI’s Director, Coastal Planner and Data Manager as well as the MAR2R project team including the Project Coordinator, Mr. Mario Escobedo and the MAR2R project Focal Point in Belize, Mr. Edgar Ek, Deputy Chief Environmental Officer.
The Integrated Basin Management Project to the Reef of the Mesoamerican Reef Ecoregion (MAR2R) is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) through the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
