Our operations in Belize have strengthened road and energy infrastructure, supported the sustainable management of natural resources, and promoted climate resilience and environmental sustainability. We also responded to socio-economic hardship caused by climate change and COVID-19 through operations in the social protection and in the agriculture sectors.
Climate Resilient Infrastructure Project
The Climate Resilient Infrastructure Project (P127338) enhanced the resilience of Belize’s road infrastructure against flood risk and impacts of climate change while improving the country’s capacity to respond promptly to emergency and crisis situations. As a result:
- 17 river crossings and culverts were improved.
- 9 km of non-rural roads were rehabilitated.
- 101 individuals, including 9 women, were trained to conduct GIS analysis, flood risk analysis and road maintenance.
- The number of localized hazard maps and related data layers exceeded targets with a total of 33. Maps are for a wide range of interventions inclusive of flood hazards, sea walls, hurricane shelters, police stations, fire risks, agriculture, education centers, urban land use, etc. at the global, national, and local levels.
- Through the activation of the Contingent Emergency Response Component (CERC), the project successfully supported a national response to the COVID‐19 pandemic, providing emergency assistance to over 176,500 vulnerable people (44,785 households) through cash transfers, agricultural inputs, and technical assistance.
- 40.2% of the total beneficiaries were women.
- The CERC also provided the necessary support for the restoration of livelihoods for 2,481 female farmers through cash compensation.
- Under CERC, the BOOST program, which stands for Building Opportunities for Our Social Transformation, provided small cash assistance to 2,300 poor households, exceeding its project target.
- Support provided through the Belize COVID 19 Cash Transfer Programme (BCCAT) emergency assistance programme reached over 45,000 women (52 percent of total program beneficiaries).
Environmental Sustainability
- The Marine Conservation and Climate Adaptation Project (MCCAP) increased protections and restoration efforts to conserve coastal resources, helped to build sustainable and alternative livelihoods for coastal communities to relieve human pressures on the coral reef and to help adaptations to a changing climate, and built public awareness about climate change and the importance of marine resources.
- The Promoting Sustainable Natural Resource-Based Livelihoods project (P132098) successfully increased human resilience to climate change impacts in 25 poor rural communities.
- By engaging approximately 600 members of beneficiary groups in sustainable livelihood sub-projects and providing training for the development and management of sustainable livelihood activities to 928 people, the project reduced anthropogenic pressure on the natural resource base and benefitted vulnerable households.
Fostering Climate Resilience and Environmental Sustainability
- Developed and adopted methodologies to enhance climate resilience in energy planning.
- The transmission network is being segmented and protected against cascading line faults, and weak transmission sections are being reinforced to improve resilience.
- Protected 405,512 hectares of marine areas for biodiversity, exceeding the target of 386,612 hectares.
- Provided capacity-building support to 5,948 people, exceeding the target of 5,000 people.
Promoting Financial Inclusion & Social Resilience
- The percentage of individuals with an account at a financial institution has increased from 48.2% in 2014 to 66% in 2019.
- Provided financial support to farmers severely affected by the pandemic through distribution assistance, agricultural equipment, tools and supplies, protective equipment, and technical support. This support has specifically targeted women involved in agriculture and small farmers.
- Increased the percentage of eligible population fully vaccinated from a baseline of 19% to an ongoing target of 75%.
- Provided emergency cash transfers to 5,543 beneficiaries and improved women's economic inclusion policy formulation.
Infrastructure Development
- The Municipal Development Project reached the targets of 69,177 direct beneficiaries – including 35,280 female beneficiaries, and 88,056 indirect beneficiaries (exceeding the original target).
- The Project financed 33.7 km of drainage, 14.85 km of road rehabilitation, 140 road intersections improvements, and 214 traffic signs. The project further supported nine town councils, building their administrative capacity, and trained 220 staff.
Rural Development & Sustainable Livelihoods
The Belize Promoting Sustainable Natural Resource-based Livelihoods project (P132098) provides good examples of support to vulnerable groups.
- The project supported 25 underprivileged rural communities, including one community primarily composed of the Garinagu people, one composed of the Maya people, and some are a mixture of multiple ethnic groups. The project provided 10 community mobilization workshops for all of these communities, in which 386 people participated. The project also provided 63 training sessions on various subjects from business skills to sub-project specific techniques, in which 915 people participated.
- The project successfully identified 17 natural resource-based livelihoods sub-projects, of which four groups composed of or include Maya people, two groups include Garinagu people, five groups composed exclusively of women, and one group composed of agricultural immigrants. The total number of beneficiaries from these sub-projects were 582 people, of which 268 people (46%) were women, and 112 people were youth.
- The sub-projects were successful in generating revenues, such as the Trio Pineapple Production, which earned revenues of US$33,557, translating to US$1,864/household and a 339% increase in household income from the baseline.
- The Junajil K’anjel San Miguel Pig Rearing Group sold eight pigs and made US$3,278 ($2,086 for meat and $596 for live mass), which translated to US$328/household and a 60% increase in household income.
The San Felipe and Sarteneja Honey producers harvested 50-55 gallons of honey each, with Sarteneja earning US$1,848 for 28 cases, which translated to US$184/household and a 33% increase in household income. The Belize Lionfish Jewelry Group also made sales worth US$3,000 at a special one-day sale and seminar event at the World Bank Headquarters.
Social & Economic Development
To bolster Belize's social and economic landscape, the Productive Inclusion and Female Entrepreneurship Advisory Services and Analytics (ASA) project, P178697 made significant strides in strengthening social protection policies and fostering economic inclusion.
The ASA supported the evaluation and informed the design of the BOOST+ and Women’s Entrepreneurship Program (WEP). It contributed to increasing Government’s capacity to design and implement gender-sensitive social protection policies and programs focused on economic inclusion of women and improved program capacity to assess and match the BOOST+ beneficiaries to in demand skills/job training or entrepreneurship programs that the Government will continue to implement.
BOOST+ Pilot Evaluation:
· Conducted outcome and process evaluations of the BOOST+ pilot program.
· Provided the first assessment of the "wrap-around" service model's impact on families.
· Identified positive outcomes, including increased employment, earnings, and financial inclusion.
· Highlighted areas for improvement, such as referral organization and addressing health and nutrition issues.
Women’s Entrepreneurship Program (WEP) Pilot Technical Note:
· Delivered a technical note on potential design options for the WEP pilot.
· Focused on interventions like assessments, referrals, training in business management skills, and continuous support for business plan development.
· Provided suggested monitoring and evaluation indicators and program targets.
Capacity Building and Informed Decision-Making:
· Generated evidence and roadmaps for better program design and implementation.
· Enhanced the client’s capacity to make informed decisions.