PACT Awards BZ$4.43 Million in Grants to enhance Belize’s Climate Resilience
Belmopan, Belize, February 12, 2025 ─The Protected Areas Conservation Trust (PACT) today awarded BZ$4,430,141.81 in grants to support four subprojects under its Building Community Resilience via Transformative Adaptation project (EDA Project). Financed through the Adaptation Fund’s Enhanced Direct Access funding window, the BZ$10 million project aims to improve Belize’s long-term capacity to protect communities from the impacts of climate change over five years.
The projects, expected to directly impact 150,000 persons and an additional 100,000 persons indirectly, are outlined below.
Project Title | Grantee | Amount Approved (BZD) | Time Frame |
Building Resilience and Adaptive Capacity on Fire Management and Control in the Sarteneja Village in the Corozal District | Sarteneja Village Council | $464,454.96 | 24 months |
Strengthening Wildfire Management for a Resilient Belize | Belize Forest Department | $676,219.25 | 36 months |
Creating Opportunities to support Alternative Livelihoods | Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Enterprise, and BELTRAIDE | $2,604,967.60 | 42 months |
Flood Mitigation and Environmental Restoration Initiative | Belmopan City Council | $684,500.00 | 24 months |
An additional four projects are in the development stage and are expected to come on board later in the year.
Led by PACT, the EDA Project functions as an on-granting mechanism for in-country climate finance, targeting five interconnected components critical to building community resilience. These include:
- Component One: Safeguarding Forest and Water Resources through Strategic Protection and Restoration Solutions
- Component Two: Combating Wildfires through Adaptive Management
- Component Three: Creating Opportunities to Support Alternative Livelihoods
- Component Four: Building National Capacity to Access Adaptation Finance
- Component Five: Community Disaster Risk Management
The EDA Project was approved by the Adaptation Fund Board at its 41st Meeting held in Bonn, Germany, in October 2023. PACT was accredited to the Adaptation Fund in 2011, serving as Belize’s Nationally Implementing Entity to the Fund. In this role, PACT accesses, administers, and implements resources from the Fund for climate adaptation projects in Belize.
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The Protected Areas Conservation Trust (PACT) is a statutory organization established as a Trust Fund under the Protected Areas Conservation Trust Act, Chapter 218 of the Laws of Belize, Revised Edition 2020. PACT sources funds nationally and internationally to finance the sustainable management and development of Belize’s natural and cultural heritage through partnership and collaboration with government agencies, non-governmental organizations that manage Belize’s National Protected Areas System. Through its accreditation to international climate financing institutions, PACT also provides access to funding for climate adaptation and mitigation projects.