Shoreline Management Planning for Economic Development in Belize

Belize is a world-famous tourist destination known for its mangrove and palm-fringed islands with direct access to the Mesoamerican reef and spectacular Mayan sites throughout the country. Working in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Government of Belize has developed multiple phases of a ‘Sustainable Tourism Program’ (STP), to broaden and enhance the tourism economy. As part of the STP, the ‘Support for Improving Disaster and Climate Resilience in Sustainable Tourism’ (Jacobs, 2018a) Project was commissioned covering the Corozal District in northern Belize, where there is a strong tourism potential, and high levels of coastal risks. Providing a resilient coastal zone has been recognised by multiple agencies as being vitally important for a sustainable tourism industry. The Project undertook baseline studies (data collection and analysis to identify current and future coastal erosion and flooding risks), a review of the coastal governance structure, the prioritisation of coastal frontages for shoreline stabilisation measures and the development of designs for four sustainable, nature-based demonstration projects. Environmental, social and economic feasibility studies were undertaken, and training activities were implemented as institutional capacity building. A Shoreline Management Plan (SMP), the first such plan in the region, has been developed, which sets out the long-term policies for effectively managing the Corozal coastline and a strategy to respond in a controlled manner to the threat of coastal flooding and the risks of erosion in the face of climate change. The strategic approach to defining the sustainable, long term approach to managing risk and delivering a resilient coastal zone is a suitable framework for other areas to adopt in the region.