Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized 0~* v b r r A+ A i-~ ~ .f A m. 4 A ; $ * w z ~~~,,Z~~~~~~~A~~~~~<V E C A~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~i 0 fl C ,_ fSN'v~~~~~~~,>~ Mi". o N~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~k Public Disclosure Authorized *1* o q -~ ~A~' WLA1k~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~W~~i z -~~~~~~~~~~W,,VM = ~ ~~ 3 uAA= 1 .y .e .'. .~z Le) Le)C:< rJJ7 -z ~ i' e - - -r A Az o y..) C .L ____ Public Disclosure Authorized FISCAL YEAR April I - March 31 CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS Since 1976 the Belize dollar has been aligned with the US dollar at the rate of US$1.00 = BZ$2.00. TABLES Totals in tables do not always equal the sum of their components due to rounding. Preface The primary purpose of this report was to assist the Governmentof Belize in the preparation of a National EnvironmentalAction Plan. The report focuses on key environmentalproblems and identifiespolicies and programs,including required investments and financing mechanisms, to enable the Government to develop and implement an environmentalstrategy. The report is accompaniedby technical annexes which detail the sectoral and institutionalissues for the benefit of the Government. The report identifies "win-win" policies and suggests the need for improving institutional capacity and communityparticipation in the management of natural resources. More generally, the report illustratesenvironmental problems commonly encountered not only in Belize but in many other countries,and identifiesapproaches to deal with them. This report is based on a draft environmentalreport of December1993 on Belize and on the findingsof a multidisciplinarymission which visitedthe country in March 1996. The coreteam responsiblefor preparingthe report comprised: CarmenScoseria (task manager, LA3C2), Ramon Lopez (environmentaleconomist/coordinator), David Gray (land use and land allocation),Kristin McLaughlin-Elliott (forests and protected areas),Doreen Crompton (coastal zone management and tourism), Claudia Binder (water resource and waste management),and David Colbert (legal and institutionalframework). Other contributors include Eugen Finkel (rural poverty), VeronicaVargas (health), GillianCambers (coastal zone management),Jim Arthur (waste management),and Bjorn Larsen (land allocation). Raj Nallari,Eliza Wintersand Pilar Maisterra(LA3C2) provided useful commentsand were responsible for revising the final draft. Ken Chomitz (PRDEI) provided valuable suggestions as a peer reviewer. Hazel Vargas, assisted by Krystyn Kohler and Pedro Carrigo, was responsible for managingthe complete processing of this report and the annexes. Paul Isenmanis the Director of LA3 Department,Philippe Nouvel is the Division Chief of LA3C2, and Norman Hicks is the Lead Economistof LA3. The team benefited from an extensiveexchange of ideas with public officials, local NGOs and aid agencies representatives.The report was discussedwith a delegationfrom the Governmentof Belize that visitedWashington during May 13-15, 1996 and its commentswere incorporated. The preparationof this report was financiallysupported by the British Development Division in the Caribbean (BDDC), the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)and the SwitzerlandTrust Fund. iii Contents PREFACE ....................................................... iii ABBREVIATIONS ....................................................... vi EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ....................................................... vii 1 OVERVIEW ........................................................ 1 A. Introduction ....................................................... 1 B. Objectives of the report ........................................................ 2 C. Structure of the report ........................................................ 2 D. Physical setting ....................................................... 3 2 EXISTING SITUATION AND MAJOR ISSUES ........................................................ 4 A. Basic framework ........................................................ 4 B. Land management ........................................................ 8 C. Forest resources ....................................................... 11 D. Protected areas ....................................................... 12 E. Coastal zone ....................................................... 14 F. Water resource and waste management ....................................................... 15 G. Health ........................................................ 19 H. Poverty and the environment ....................................................... 20 L Legal and institutional framework ....................................................... 21 3 POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS ....................................................... 23 A. Financing mechanisms, enforcement and community participation ........................................... 23 B. Improving land management ....................................................... 23 C. Preventing deterioration of coastal zone areas ....................................................... 24 D. Improving water resource and waste management .......................................... 26 E. Controlling environment-related diseases ....................................................... 27 F. Breaking the poverty-environmental degradation cycle ....................................................... 27 G. Strengthening the institutional capacity .................................................. 28 REFERENCES ....................................................... 29 ANNEX I: Land Use and Land Allocation ANNEX H: Forests and Protected Areas ANNEX IlI: Coastal Zone Management ANNEX IV: Water Resource and Waste Management ANNEX V: Health and the Environment ANNEX VI: Tourism ANNEX VII: Legal and Institutional Framework MAP OF BELIZE v Abbreviations BAS BelizeAudubon Society BDDC BritishDevelopment Division in the Caribbean CARICOM CaribbeanCommunity CDB CaribbeanDevelopment Bank CIDA CanadianInternational Development Agency CZMTC Coastal Zone ManagementTechnical Committee CZMU Coastal ZoneManagement Unit DOE Departmentof the Environment EIA EnvironmentalImpact Assessment EPA EnvironmentalProtection Act EU EuropeanUnion FAO Food and AgriculturalOrganization of the UnitedNations GDP Gross DomesticProduct GEF GlobalEnvironmental Facility GIS GeographicInformation System IDB Inter AmericanDevelopment Bank LOP Land OwnershipProgram MARPOL InternationalConvention for the Preventionof Pollutionfrom Ships MOF Ministryof Finance MOH Ministryof Health NARMAP Natural ResourcesManagement and ProtectionProject NGO Non-GovernmentalOrganization NPASP NationalProtected Areas SystemPlan ODA OverseasDevelopment Agency PACT ProtectedAreas ConservationTrust PAHO Pan AmericanHealth Organization QR QuantitativeRestriction SDA SpecialDevelopment Areas SIF Social InvestmentFund SWMA SolidWaste ManagementAuthority UNDP UnitedNations Development Program UNICEF UnitedNations Children'sFund UNIDO UnitedNations Industrial Development Organization USAID UnitedStates Agencyfor InternationalDevelopment WASA Waterand SewerageAuthority WRI World ResourcesInstitute WWF WorldWildlife Fund vi Executive Summary Overview of existing environmental problems i. The Belizean economy is highly dependent on activities based on natural resources: agriculture, fisheries and tourism. These constitute the backbone of the Belizean economy, and their rapid expansion explains in part the high economic growth of 6% per year achieved by Belize during 1985-95. To continue this rapid expansion, Belize must maintain its environmental resources at a healthy level. ii. So far, Belize has been able to preserve its environmental capital to a much greater extent than other Central American and Caribbean countries. Approximately 60% of Belize's territory (about 23,000 km) is still under closed cover forest and most water resources remain in a relatively good condition. Also, coral reefs, a vital tourist attraction, are almost pristine. The relatively good state of natural resources can be largely explained by the low population density, but also by an increasing environmental awareness both by the Government and the public at large. However, population, albeit from a small base, has been growing rapidly over the last decade, at an annual rate of about 2.6% and at a much higher rate in rural areas. iii. The rapid rate of population growth, especially in rural areas, is leading to increasing pressures on tropical forest areas and to unsustainable agricultural practices at least in certain areas. Also, due to the lack of concentration of the population, the provision of adequate services, including potable water and sanitation is more expensive, and is reflected in low availability of such services in rural areas. This in turn has contributed to a large incidence of environment-related diseases, such as gastrointestinal disease and malaria. Additionally, inadequate sanitation and waste management infrastructure, and control of agro-industrial effluents and fertilizer use, are having adverse effects on the coastal zone. iv. Thus, the most serious environment problems facing Belize are: (i) deforestation, largely linked to inappropriate land management; (ii) inadequate sanitation and waste disposal facilities; and (iii) contamination and degradation of water resources. Many forest areas and the coral reefs are at risk of irreversible degradation. The incidence of environment-related diseases, such as malaria and gastrointestinal diseases, is high and compares unfavorably with most countries in the region. Therefore,