8 articles
Over the course of six months, Climate Spotlight spoke to representatives from 6 of 7 of Belize’s Marine Protected Area co-managers to learn more about their job and what they believe it will take to meet Belize’s ambitious and contractual goal of expanding its marine protected areas to 30% by the end of 2026.
Climate Spotlight Staff
A mega-resort project is taking shape on the leeward side of Ambergris Caye. The waters surrounding the 10-acre Cayo Rosario rival the pristine coral reef environment of the windward side, long a magnet for scuba divers and snorkelers. With translucent waters and small mangrove cayes, the area was once a haven for migratory and resident […]
Climate Spotlight Staff
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 […]
Climate Spotlight Staff
HOPKINS, Belize — Heaters, pumps and computerized meters rigged to an everyday picnic icebox may seem like a high school science project. But this heat stress tank may hold the key to finding the most heat-resilient corals in Belize’s waters. As climate change and other human-caused stressors continue to push these rainforests of the sea […]
Climate Spotlight Staff
PLACENCIA, Belize — After Hurricane Iris decimated the coral reef at Laughing Bird Caye National Park in 2001, many wrote off the UNESCO World Heritage site as a coral graveyard. But a small group from the coastal village of Placencia, Belize, about 18 kilometers (11 miles) from the island, saw hope. In 2006, the park had just […]
Climate Spotlight Staff
Rosie knows the Lighthouse Reef Atoll like the back of her fin. She calls this atoll home and is a matriarch of the thriving population of Caribbean reef sharks (Carcharhinus perezi) living there. Her signature scar on her dorsal fin makes her easy to identify each year during monitoring surveys conducted by MarAlliance, a U.S.-based nonprofit […]
Climate Spotlight Staff
By Marco Lopez and Andre Habet BELMOPAN, Wed. Feb., 26, 2025 UK-based Equilibrium Research is no new kid on the block when it comes to crafting plans for protected areas. They’ve worked internationally for 35 years. Nigel Dudley, conservation ecologist, admits that Belize’s protected areas governance landscape is one of the most unique he’s seen. […]
Climate Spotlight Staff
By Andre Habet Milestone four of the Blue Loan and Conservation Funding Agreement obliges the Government of Belize to expand Biodiversity Protection Zones in Belize’s marine space by 25% by November 2024. Luminary Management Consultation, a group out of Orange Walk District was contracted by the government to carry out 11 consultation sessions across coastal […]
Climate Spotlight Staff