GFCR Greenlights $25M to Scale Up Coral Reef Resilience Efforts
is funding the MAR+Invest program to address local drivers of ecosystem degradation and contribute to reef and community resilience through blended finance.Now in its second phase, the MAR+Invest partners are scaling a regional portfolio of market-based solutions spanning Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, and Belize, instrumental to achieving the programme’s 2030 targets: 60,000 hectares of coral reefs under improved management; 3 million community members with increased resilience; and $60 million leveraged in public and private finance.New funding support was also announced for the Blue Alliance-led
Rubymar Sinking Puts Coral Reefs At Risk
climate change further warms the world's oceans - making any potential impact even more significant.The conflict in the area further complicates any cleanup and would dissuade salvage ships from entering the high risk waters, shipping industry sources said.So far, it is not clear who has insured the Belize-registered Rubymar and would therefore pay for any remediation. It is not known how the fertiliser was stored and how secure it would be from reaching the water. And so far, any damage has yet to be reported.But the sinking has the potential to be the worst environmental catastrophe the region has
EOMAP Wins new survey contract by UKHO
a new three-to-five-year framework contract for Satellite-Derived Bathymetry (SDB) with EOMAP. In the course of a competitive tender the German based experts for Earth Observation have – again– been ranked first-choice provider of SDB. The first batch covers 9,000 sq km shallow waters of Belize. Starting 2022, EOMAP will deliver high-resolution shallow water grids from SDB technology to UKHO, with the first survey covering the waters of Belize. This survey will be the first complete survey of some of these waters, including where uncharted coral pinnacles are currently noted on the chart
Project Uses DNA to Combat Illegal Trade of Aquatic Wildlife
against wildlife smuggling and illegal trade.The toolkit has been successfully used in Hong Kong and Peru, where it can often be difficult to identify species of wildlife products by visual inspection alone. With their new funding the researchers will deploy the units in Colombia, Spain, Guatemala, Belize, and Indonesia, countries that face challenges in illegal trade of shark products and other marine and freshwater wildlife.With an additional grant, two DNA toolkit units will be deployed in Spain’s two largest fishing ports, to fight illegal shark trade and provide for enforcement of the bluefin
Vontobel and Candriam back Belize's barrier reef 'superbond' buyback
Belize edged closer on Friday to securing a unique environmentally-friendly debt restructuring after two more of its 'superbond' holders publicly backed a plan that would see the serial defaulter commit to protecting its giant barrier reef.The government of Belize laid out a groundbreaking proposal last week offering to buy back the $526.5 million bond with help from U.S.-headquartered, non-profit organization The Nature Conservancy.A key part of the deal is that the government will fund a $23.4 million marine conservation trust that would help protect the world's second-largest barrier
Threatened Caribbean Coral Reefs Get a New Ally: Insurance
experts first discussed the idea of reef insurance, Mexico’s Quintana Roo state government in 2019 took out what was likely the world’s first policy, covering areas near the tourist resorts of Cancun.The nonprofit MAR Fund will soon take out a second, covering sites in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras, paid for with grant money from the InsuResilience Solutions Fund, backed by the German government.“How important is this from 0 to 10? I’d say 10,” said Claudia Ruiz, Reef Rescue Initiative coordinator at MAR Fund, which works on the conservation and sustainable use
Fugro Advances Bathymetric Lidar Mapping Capabilities
are enhanced through rapid processing and data transfer capabilities.“We believe RAMMS will bring significant value to hydrographic organizations, coastal zone/floodplain managers and engineers,” Saade said, noting a successful hydrographic charting demonstration project recently performed in Belize, covering 165 square kilometers. Fugro is currently using RAMMS to complete several large-scale surveys in the Americas with projects in other regions expected to follow.RAMMS is the second major technology innovation offered by Fugro in partnership with Areté Associates. In 2015 the companies
Coral Reefs Get Sick from Plastic Waste -Study
better management of fisheries was the best way to strengthen coral reefs to enable them to fend off man-made threats such as more plastics. "This is not a story about 'let's give up on corals'," he told Reuters. "Overfishing today is the biggest threat." He said nations from Belize to the Philippines were acting to regulate fisheries on corals. (Reporting By Alister Doyle; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
Seabed Mapping Underway in Belize
The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) has deployed two vessels to survey the waters of Belize as part of the Commonwealth Marine Economies (CME) Program, the organization has announced. Following a stakeholder meeting with the Belize Port Authority and wider government earlier this month, priority areas will be surveyed, capturing sonar data of Belize's main ports and approaches. High frequency mapping sonars are being used, which have no negative impact on its diverse ecosystems and marine life. The surveying is expected to continue throughout February and will focus on areas including
February 2025
