| Overview : The economy of Belize is based on the country’s natural resource endowments. Based on a national realization that the country’s development is intrinsically tied to the prudent management of the environment and the country’s natural resource based, decision makers formally articulated the country’s commitment to pursuing a sustainable development pathway in its long term vision for the country. As part of the general development direction spelled out in Horizon 2030, Environmental Policy is in continuous development in Belize. The Government of Belize (GOB), with the support of the United Nation’s Development Programme (UNDP) and with financing from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) has agreed to undertake a project aimed to assist the country in implementing its relevant obligations under the Stockholm Convention, in particular to reduce the releases of Unintentionally Produced Persistent Organic Pollutants (UPOPs), as well as to build the country’s capacity, in line with the GEF objectives. This will be accomplished through 2 principal project components. One of the components addresses UPOPs release reduction in waste management operations and agriculture. In the agricultural sector, green harvesting with underlying field improvements as well as expert, technical and technological assistance will enable smaller scale cooperative sugar cane farmers to stop burning of the cane fields pre-and post-harvest with increased yields and decreased inputs. |
