PACT Donates IT Equipment to Boost Urban Planning and Climate Readiness

In an effort to support Urban planning and Climate resilience, The Protected Areas Conservation Trust (PACT) formally handed over essential Information Technology (IT) equipment to representatives of the nine municipalities, on November 11 in Belmopan at the Ministry of Sustainable Development auditorium in Belmopan.  The handing over ceremony came on the heels of the completion of a twenty-day capacity building workshop by City and Town councils, on settlement planning, urban data information and Management system.  The Initiative led by Pact and funded through the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Readiness 10 Program offered each of the municipalities a laptop, monitor, mouse and licensed Geographic Information System (GIS) software.  Proposal Development Officer at the Climate Finance Unit (CFU), Anisa Nah, expressed that the donation was more than physical equipment, it is a step towards Belize’s advancement in climate readiness.

And as Belize continues to make strides in developing climate resilient communities the GIS software has the possibility to push the country even further ahead. PACT’s Executive Director, Abil Castaneda describes GIS as a powerful tool for enhancing data management and decision making on a national scale.

The equipment is part of a larger set of resources, purchased under the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Readiness 10 Programme, which will also benefit the Belize Association of Professional Planners (BAPP). The equipment has been valued at close to forty-four thousand Belize dollars, and includes tablets, GPS devices, and a drone. An additional twenty thousand seven hundred dollars were invested to purchase the specialised mapping software and licenses