PACT and BFSF Sign Landmark Deal to Boost Conservation Efforts

The Protected Areas Conservation Trust (PACT) and the Belize Fund for A Sustainable Future inked a memorandum of understanding today to enhance the country approached to sustainable development. The five year agreement seeks to increase the agencies’ collaboration to pool their resources, standardize policies for financing, and increase public awareness. The partnership agreement was months in the making, and its core goal is to strengthen conservation efforts and increase financing for protection of Belize’s ecosystems. Minister of Sustainable Development, Climate Change, and Solid Waste Management, Orlando Habet, spoke about the significance of the partnership and how it will bolsters the country’s conservations efforts. 

Orlando Habet, Minister of Sustainable Development and Climate Change: “It brings together PACT and the Belize Fund for Sustainable Future  which are two organizations one has more than 30 years, PACT, and the other one is an initiative that started about three years ago but both that have been working on conservation and also looking at financing for conservation. Of course, PACT having some more experience and the staff who have been there for some time and also because they also have a finance unit that looks at climate finance and especially through the adaptation fund and the BSFS who have been there for, as I mentioned, three years ago, but have been looking at more specifically at marine conservation, especially at marine protected areas. It is really a  private organization which came out of the Blue Bond but  it needs support.  So I think by  bringing together the resources  from staff, personnel, looking at the finance mechanisms that are out there and the actual finance that is available many times you can’t really be competing for the same finance especially coming from the same country. So I think that coming together that way and trying to focus on what they want and planning together,  it might be a way of trying to get those climate finances for conservation a lot easier. But also that I believe that one thing that they can also do is, whilst Belize is also very well known and a leader in conservation, with both of them coming together, the marketing might be a lot better so that then you can easily get those organizations  internationally that will be able to come in and bring in those finances.”

The agreement take effect this month and will also allow the agencies to collaborate on a range of projects. Executive Director of PACT, Abil Castaneda, and Executive Director of the Belize Fund, Leandra Cho Rickets, shared their sentiments on the agreements’ finalization and its expected impact. 

Abil Castaneda, Executive Director, PACT: “We are very happy, we are very pleased and excited to be and with the signed document, even though we started collaborating before we signed the document but at the end of the day really it is about putting the Belize first. It is about ensuring that we put all of our resources together to make sure we achieve the commitments and the goals we all have for sustainable development, as the minister put it. There is a huge financing gap in conservation in Belize, around the world but Belize is no exception and we believe that as we continue this journey it’s better to continue in areas where we strategically can to do so in unison rather  than being different. So we’re very excited and also excited that our staff can meet one another.”

Leandra Cho Ricketts, Executive Director of the Belize Fund: “When we first engaged at about a year ago before Abil’s time the whole point was to be able to ensure that we had coordinated support for particular the Marine Protected Areas System. There was a lot of  requests coming to both our organizations for urgent funding. We saw the need to  work together, coordinate, and rationalize what  the real need was to be able to provide funding that complements each other but that’s one of the biggest drivers. But of course, as two funds with similar mission we’re all working in the same space in Belize. We felt it was important to partner where we can look at joint efforts from mobilizing additional funding from outside. So, two is better than one and working separately. So we’re looking forward to this partnership and we see that it was just natural to get together and work because rather than compete then we can work and partner.” 

The agreement was signed today in Belmopan at the Sustainable Development, Climate Change, and Solid Waste Management.