BELMOPAN, Wed. Feb. 9, 2022– Belize is set to be the first Caribbean nation to benefit from the United Kingdom’s £500 million Blue Planet Fund after an announcement that the first £16.2 million of the fund would go to five programs dedicated to tackling climate change, restoring ocean health, and reducing poverty. One of those five programs is the Ocean Country Partnership Programme (OCPP), through which the UK has been partnering with countries to deal with issues related to biodiversity, pollution, and sustainable seafood. In Belize, the UK will be partnering, through the OCPP, with entities such as the Fisheries Department, Coastal Zone Management Institute & Authority, and the Department of the Environment, as well as stakeholders in the public and private sectors, to exchange science, research, and development expertise.
The UK government began formal discussions with the Government of Belize on implementing the OCPP in the country in August 2021, and now the Deputy Director for International Marine Environment of the UK’s Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra), James Smith, is leading a delegation on a visit to Belize to launch the program. The delegation, visiting from February 6 to 11, includes members of the UK’s Centre for Environment, Fisheries, and Aquacultures (Cefas) and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) and is being facilitated by the British High Commissioner, Her Excellency Claire Evans OBE.
“We recognise Belize’s commitment to environmental management, marine conservation, biodiversity protection, and tackling climate change, and hope that UK’s partnership through the OCPP will continue to support Belize’s world-leading actions in these areas,” stated the British High Commissioner in a press release.
According to the British High Commission in Belmopan, the UK delegation will be meeting with Prime Minister Hon. John Briceño and Governor-General HE Froyla Tzalam, as well as several Cabinet ministers, including Hon. Andre Perez, Minister of Blue Economy and Civil Aviation; Hon. Orlando Habet, Minister of Sustainable Development, Climate Change, and Disaster Risk Management; and Hon. Jose Mai, Minister of Agriculture, Food Security, and Enterprise.
Hon. Andre Perez, Minister of the Blue Economy and Civil Aviation, expressed his gratitude to the UK government for the OCPP project initiative last year, stating “Belize’s blue assets have been central to its development and quality of life of its people. The support of the UK government represents a strategic partnership contributing to our economic recovery through the effective management of our biodiversity, which underpins blue economic development.”
The £500 million Blue Planet Fund (BPF) was launched in June 2021 and is managed by the UK’s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO).
During an interview with Beverly Wade, Director of Blue Bond and Project Finance for Permanence Unit, she shared, “This program will build on activity and initiatives that were already happening in Belize, in particular, looking at marine pollutions, plastics, it will also look at effective managed of marine protected areas, strengthening science for protected areas but also for biodiversity management and also looking at aquaculture- how we now look at responsible aquaculture but also looking at the potential for aquaculture development in Belize.”