As part of a series of workshops aimed at integrating inter-institutional and local efforts towards a comprehensive management of seagrasses in Belize, a series of workshops have begun to support the protection of these ecosystems in the country.
In Belize and elsewhere, seagrasses can be found forming extensive meadows beneath the sea. The leaves of these productive plants provide food and shelter for many marine animals, including commercially important fishery species. Their roots deliver oxygen and help stabilize the seafloor by preventing erosion. Seagrasses also support biodiversity, maintain clean water quality, sequester carbon, and support local economies.
These critical habitats, though, have been severely impacted by human activities and may be further affected by climate change. They are especially vulnerable to sediment loading and disturbances caused by coastal erosion, dredging, trawling, and coastal construction. Elevated nutrients from coastal developments can lead to excessive algae growth that shades seagrass leading to degradation.
Effective management of seagrass habitats is, thus, essential to maintain the valuable goods and services provided by seagrasses. To do this, inclusive and participatory approaches are needed, including interagency and cross-sectoral collaborations to forge consensus approaches, pool physical and intellectual resources, and elevate underrepresented local voices in the national arena.
Development of the planned national seagrass policy for Belize will take into account the aforementioned and will aim to integrate the best science and local inputs.
The goal of the national seagrass management policy will be to support wise stewardship and improved protection of Belize’s seagrass ecosystems to continue to attain goods and services such as carbon sink, augmented coastal protection, biodiversity safeguarding, nursery functions, among others.
In order to achieve this, four key objectives are proposed:
- Collaborate with local stakeholders
- Assess and map seagrass distribution, condition, risks, and human dimensions
- Prioritize areas for seagrass protection including consideration of marine and land-based impacts
- Co-develop the seagrass management policy that incorporates monitoring and evaluation of implementation success.
The approach will integrate local stakeholder guidance and information with existing high quality spatial data products on seagrass distributions, ecological connectivity, development risk to habitats, degradation, as well as the importance of existing and emerging conservation measures such as marine protected areas.
Based on these standards and information, a series of workshops are planned to garner stakeholder input and guidance for policy development. The first of these workshops was held on October 30th at the Belize Institute of Management in Belize City. It had 42 participants from government, NGOs, academia, marine tour sector and local community. It took place both in person and virtually and was aimed at:
- Hearing from participants about data that could help inform understanding of ecosystem services, perceptions and uses, areas of ecological connectivity, development risk to habitats, degraded areas, and areas requiring protection.
- Obtain input to help develop criteria for prioritizing the protection of seagrass areas.
