By Marco Lopez – Editor-in-Chief, Climate Spotlight
When Jose Oliva hopped on the sailboat crewed and captained by sea-hardened northern fishermen, I got the sense that the Belize Fund for a Sustainable Future (Belize Fund) was the real deal. The fishermen were not so happy about not receiving some funds to help support their livelihoods – when others they know of were supported. Oliva is the program manager, responsible for creating mechanisms that allow non-governmental organizations representing fishermen like the ones we met at sea near Half Moon Caye to access much-needed funding.
The Belize Fund is also tasked with allocating funds to the Government of Belize so it can achieve its marine conservation commitments under the Belize Blue Bond.
“The Belize Fund is a nonprofit private conservation trust fund that was born out of the Blue Bonds loan Agreement and a conservation funding agreement,” Josue Oliva said to Climate Spotlight during an assignment at Half Moon Caye in August.
As part of the Belize Blue Bond between the GoB and The Nature Conservancy, the fund was established with strict instructions to disburse funding aligned with conservation commitments and Belize’s marine conservation priorities.
Leandra Cho-Ricketts is the Executive Director of the Belize Fund.
“The Blue Bonds money is not infinite,” Ricketts said in an interview with Climate Spotlight while at Laughing Bird Caye during a media tour organized by the Belize Fund back in June.
“It is a fixed amount, so we have sinking funds, which means the money comes in, we spend it, and once it’s done, it’s gone. We have a total of USD$80 million coming in until 2041 – we are three years into that period.”
The total period is 20 years.
Oliva explained that the Belize Fund has two main funding windows: the Government Strategic Allocations (GSA) – used to fund the marine conservation work of the government – and the Grants Awards Program (GAP), through which non-governmental and community organizations access funding.
Funding is channeled to projects and programs that fall within one or more of the four thematic areas: protection of biodiversity, sustainable fisheries, climate resilience, and blue business innovation.
These thematic areas were established during stakeholder consultations, where the fund’s name was also agreed upon.
So far, a total of BZD $28.8 million has been committed to government and non-governmental projects in the blue space. A commitment of $13.88 million has been set aside for government allocations, and $11.97 million has been committed to non-governmental and community organizations. The remainder going to finance the operation of the fund itself.
Oliva emphasized that getting funding to small NGOs and community organizations is an important component of the fund’s work. But projects must align with one of the four thematic areas.
“As part of our strategic plan, we want to be as fit for purpose, and we have, we want to ensure that everyone has equal access to funding opportunities,” Oliva said.
“Different funding windows under the Grants Awards Program have been created to allow different entities at different levels to access funding, such as small grants, medium grants, large grants, and community grants,” he said.
As for the government, funds allocated must be used to achieve the commitments under the Belize Blue Bond.
So far, the Belize Coast Guard, the Forest Department, Fisheries Department, Coastal Zone Management Authority, and the Belize Blue Bond Finance Permanence Unit have all received financing for projects and programs from the Belize Fund.
Belize is home to three of the four atolls in the Western Hemisphere. We house a huge portion of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef – it envelopes our entire coastline – creating a natural wall and a home for some of the world’s richest marine biodiversity. Our responsibility to protect this treasure, as Belizeans and as a nation, goes without saying. Together, seven marine protected areas, the shelf lagoon, offshore atolls, and coastal environments make up the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System (BBRRS).
So far, the Belize Fund has provided financing to 14 marine protected areas covering 612,994 hectares through both funding mechanisms, the GAP and GSA.
Funding is provided for the effective management of high-biodiversity coastal and marine protected areas under the GAP. During the media tour, members of the media got a deep look into the work of MarAlliance, Fragments of Hope (FOH), the Southern Environmental Association (SEA), and the Toledo Institute for Development and Environment (TIDE) – all organizations that have received significant funding from the Belize Fund.
The Belize Coast Guard also received a boost in financing to enhance the enforcement and protection of Belize’s marine resources.
SEA and TIDE act as co-managers of selected MPAs in collaboration with the Government.
Elizabeth Mushchamp is the Executive Manager at SEA.
“SEA has been co-manager for Laughing Bird Caye National Park since the 1990s,” Mushchamp told Climate Spotlight in an interview.
“Before we were SEA it was Friends of Laughing Bird, and Friends of Nature, the it merged to become SEA,” she said.
The organization co-manages the 4,095.26 hectares of the MPA, which houses some of Belize’s and the Caribbean’s most successful coral restoration sites – managed by Fragments of Hope.
In 2020, the Sapodilla Cayes Marine Reserve was expanded more than eight times its original size within the past four and a half years. Located along the southernmost tip of the Belize Barrier Reef, the 128,708.25-hectare MPA is managed by TIDE.
“We finally gained co-management in October 2023, and since then, we have been transitioning into full operations now,” Executive Director of TIDE, Leonardo Chavarria Jr., explained during a talk.
He said,” We monitor on a seasonal basis, starting in December and ending in June. We do fish spawning aggregation monitoring in all of the legally established FSA sites,” Chavarria said. They received financing for this work through the Belize Fund’s grants awards program.
MarAlliance, also a grant recipient, conducts research on megafauna in the Gladden Spit and Silk Cayes Marine Reserve.
Kirah Forman, MarAlliance’s country representative, shared that their project is focused on figuring on why we are seeing less whale sharks in Belize’s waters.
“One of the things that southern Belize is known for is Whale Sharks and within recent years we are just not seeing those numbers, as a matter of fact we are not seeing any at all,” she said.
Through the project they are trying to figure out what’s going on with the Whale Sharks, where they’ve gone and if they will come back.
“And what’s going on with the sharks, rays, turtles, and other megafauna in the area? How can we then predict some of the movement patterns of the animals?” Forman said. They are also looking at the changes in numbers and collaboration with SEA to do yearly monitoring of the fish aggregation sites.
The Belize Fund for a Sustainable Future stands as one of the most innovative financing mechanisms for conservation in the region. By combining strict accountability with access for both government and grassroots organizations, it is creating a new model for marine protection.
Still, as both Ricketts and Oliva remind us, the fund is finite. The question ahead is how Belize will continue to finance marine protection once the Blue Bond runs its course. For now, the Belize Fund is proving that when resources are managed with transparency, collaboration, and purpose, the sea – and the people who depend on it – have a fighting chance.
