On Wednesday, August 21st, the Belize Fisheries Department led a consultation session in San Pedro Town, Ambergris Caye, on expanding biodiversity protection zones. The area identified on Ambergris Caye is at the Bacalar Chico Marine Reserve, located off the island’s northern part. Expanding the protected waters at Bacalar Chico will not affect those currently using the area, including tour guides, tour operators, fishermen, and other relevant stakeholders. The exercise is part of the Government of Belize’s commitment to the Blue Bonds campaign that calls for expanding biodiversity protection zones to 25% of the country’s sea (ocean) by November 2024. Bacalar Chico is a small part of this percentage that must be achieved by the deadline later this year.
The consultation session was held at the Sunbreeze Hotel conference room shortly after 6PM. Acting Fisheries Administrator Rigoberto Quintana welcomed the attendees and explained the commitment to reach the 25% threshold by November of this year. He noted that the presentations are taking place across the country, and other areas to be part of this threshold include Lighthouse Reef Atoll Special Management Area, Lighthouse Reef Atoll General Use Zone, and Glover’s Reef Atoll Special Management Zone. Quintana emphasized that commercial fishermen and tourism stakeholders using these areas will not be affected. According to him, there will be specific new regulations and more presence of patrolling and other enforcement activities, which he did not go into detail.
The Coordinator of the Ecosystems-Based Management Unit, Alicia Eck-Nuñez, presented that currently 20.05% is under protection. As such, the remaining expansion of the areas is called ‘Medium Protection for Biodiversity Zones. The remainder fulfilling the 25% threshold includes Bacalar Chico and the Atolls identified. The total additional area for Bacalar Chico as a protected zone includes 179.989 square kilometers. When the 25% is achieved, the total expansion of protected waters along the Belizean coast will add up to 8,360.1 square kilometers.
Many stakeholders attending the presentations said they understand the government’s commitment to the Belize Blue Bonds and hope the expansion will not affect their activities. However, they took the opportunity to let the department officials know about the ongoing threats to the marine ecosystems of Ambergris Caye. They demanded better regulations and enforcement from the environmental authorities regarding the rapid growth of Ambergris Caye. Some tour guides pointed out the ongoing clearing of mangrove forests, filling of the lagoons, dredging, and other concerning activities from massive construction projects that are believed to be starting to affect the health of the Belize Barrier Reef. They highlighted that if nothing is done in the coming years, Ambergris Caye will have little to protect, and the fisheries and tourism industry may collapse. The presenters at the head table did not offer any concrete feedback on these complaints. The tour guides and operators asked them to take their concerns to their superiors since they did not have much to say about their problems.
The consultation ended with roundtable discussions with the maps of the atolls and Bacalar Chico. This activity was to obtain further a pulse of the attendees on the proposed areas to be expanded and placed under protected zones. This activity ended with participants noting their discontent with the unregulated development projects threatening the island’s fragile environment. One group added that there is no point in assigning new protected zones if there is not enough enforcement to regulate the unplanned development of Ambergris Caye.
The session ended with an announcement of the upcoming events that will take place in November. A national validation workshop is set for September 6th, where the attendance of representatives from the communities consulted will be required. A finalization report and the drafting of the statutory instruments will be completed by mid-September. The legal review of the statutory instruments will take place at the end of September, and by early October, it is to be submitted to the Cabinet. A Statutory Instrument will be presented to Parliament by mid-October and published in the government’s Gazette in late October.
The country is committed to conservation as part of the Belize Blue Bonds commitment. The Belize Blue Bonds is an agreement signed by The Nature Conservancy and the Government of Belize in November 2021. It provided immediate economic relief to Belize with a debt-to-GDP reduction of 12% in exchange for the government to protect 30% of Belize’s oceans. It also provided an estimated USD$180 million towards conservation on the ground over 20 years.
The agreement calls on Belize to complete seven milestones by 2029. Belize has delivered on conservation milestones one, two, and three by protecting 20.3% of its total ocean space designating all existing national lands within the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System as mangrove reserves. The government has also launched the marine spatial planning process to develop the Belize Sustainable Ocean Plan. The milestones achieved so far include 1,295.60 km2 of its ocean area in new protection zones. This is in addition to the 5,555.82 km2 ocean area Belize had already designated in protection zones before the Blue Bonds agreements. The third milestone was the launch of Marine Spatial Planning in October 2022, followed by the Belize Sustainable Ocean Plan, which is vital in determining the future direction of coastal management activity and features broad stakeholder involvement.
Expanding Biodiversity Protection Zones to 25% of Belize’s oceans is the fourth milestone the government hopes to complete by November 2024.
Public consultation on expanding biodiversity protection zones within Ambergris Caye

Share
Read more