Belmopan, January 24, 2022.
The Ministry of Economic Development (MED), Belize’s National Designated Authority (NDA) to the Green Climate Fund (GCF), and the Climate Finance Unit (CFU), are proud to announce that the GCF has approved a Project Preparation Facility (PPF) application for a project titled, “Integrated Flood Management in the Upper Regions of the Belize River Watershed.”
Valued at BZ$1.3 million, the PPF grant will investigate the feasibility of flood protection measures along with its associated social and environmental impacts and the impacts of climate change on flood and flood risk. The outputs of these assessments will be used to inform the development of a full funding proposal to access BZ$20 million. As a result, support received will be used to conduct an Economic and Financial Analysis Climate Impact Assessment, Engineering Designs and Project Level Indicators. These will be accompanied by Environmental Social and Gender Studies, Risk Assessment, Register and Mitigation Plan and Legal Due Diligence, inclusive of Regulation and Insurance Analysis.
The direct beneficiary of this project is the municipality of San Ignacio and Santa Elena towns and surrounding villages along the Belize River. This project is the first phase of the Government of Belize’s (GOB) programmatic approach to building the resilience of municipalities to climate change across the country as they are susceptible to flooding, which has become more frequent and intense over the past three decades due to climate change. These changes put the lives and livelihoods of residents at risk. As such, the GOB in corporation with municipalities and their partners, are committed to taking a bottom-up approach to increase the adaptive capacity of urban communities.
The Caribbean Community Climate Change Center (CCCCC) will act as the accredited entity, while the MED and the San Ignacio/Santa Elena Town Council will be responsible for the implementation of the project.
On behalf of the Government of Belize, Dr. Osmond Martinez, Belize’s NDA and Chief Executive Officer for the MED, expresses gratitude to the GCF for approving this PPF request, as well as to the team that led this initiative, including Hon. Michel Chebat, Minister of Public Utilities, Logistics and E-governance; Hon. Alex Balona, Area Representative for Cayo Central; His Worship Earl Trapp, Jr., Mayor of San Ignacio and Santa Elena towns, and councillors; Dr. Geraldo Flowers, Programme Manager of Resilient Rural Belize; Mr. Ryan Zuniga, Project Development Specialist within the CCCCC; Mr. Leroy Martinez, Economist and GCF Focal Point within the CFU; and Mr. Ramon Frutos, consultant.
Ends
For more information, please contact:
Dr. Osmond Martinez
Chief Executive Officer & NDA to GCF
Ministry of Economic Development
ceo@med.gov.bz
Mr. Carlos Pol
Director, Climate Finance Unit
Ministry of Economic Development
carlos.pol@med.gov.bz
Mr. Leroy Martinez
Economist & GCF Focal Point
Ministry of Economic Development
leroy.martinez@med.gov.bz
