The Green Dollar Symposium was held on April 11, 2017 at the UB Jaguar auditorium to highlight the economic contributions, as indication in the Vision, which the National Protected Areas System (NPAS) is making toward local and national development.  This is important as regardless of what interventions are instituted, for the next few decades Belize’s economy will remain natural resource based. Caring for our natural capital should therefore be everyone’s collective concern if we want to maintain our competitive and comparative advantage. At the same time, the prevailing macro-economic environment over the years has placed certain constraints on the management of protected areas and this has required that protected areas managers be innovative in securing financing and revenue generation. Throughout the symposium, it became clear that the NPAS Tagline: Nature. Culture. Life. should have great meaning for all Belizean’s.

Whilst the facts clearly demonstrate that Belize’s protected areas contributed to both national and local development, it can certainly be beneficial if protected areas managers and their respective constituents are cognizant of the key sectors that have been prioritized for investments. To this end, Mr. Hero Balani, Manager of BelizeINVEST, Generation at BELTRAIDE, presented on the priority investment opportunities and the sustainable path for investments, along with a highlight of the investment incentive programs available. Where possible, cases where investments have been or can be conducted in or around terrestrial or marine protected areas in a sustainable manner that benefit the environment and also be viable investment opportunities were presented.

For more details contact BelizeINVEST at:

Email: investment@belizeinvest.org.bz

Phone: (501) 822-3737

Or visit our website:

http://www.belizeinvest.org.bz/