Projects

Pro-Adapt Belize Project

On average, Belize is hit every 3 years, with principal hazards being severe losses from wind damage, and flooding due to storm surge and heavy rainfall during hurricanes.  As a low-lying coastal nation with approximately 50% of the population living along the coast, both urban and rural coastal communities’ vulnerabilities increase.  Belize City is the most vulnerable community, susceptible to flood damage due to its very low-lying land and exposure to the coast.  The probable maximum loss for hurricanes (with a 250-year return period) is US$ 383M (22.6% of GDP) and the impacts of natural disasters, including hurricanes, are like to intensify given expected increases in weather volatility and sea temperature.  Projections show increased inter-annual variability, with more intense effects of each severe weather event (particularly strong winds from storms, tropical depressions and hurricanes).  Records show that the temperature is rising faster than the global average. Under the United Nations Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) 2015–2030, there is an ongoing effort to tackle these types of challenges, identified as ‘‘seven global targets” with the first being to substantially reduce global disaster mortality by 2030 and the second to substantially reduce the number of affected people globally by 2030. The Sendai Framework significantly focuses on future challenges through the promotion of new actions, funding, and research.

To address extreme weather projects and to build resilience in the construction sector, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) signed a Technical Cooperation Agreement  on October 12th 2017 formally naming the BCCI as the Executing Agency for the private sector focused project, Pro-adapt Belize – Increasing Climate Change Resilience and Related Business Opportunities.

This Project aims to increase private-sector climate resilience in Belize at the enterprise level in the construction sector, while also helping local stakeholders to capitalize on the growing demand for products and services that enable buyers to better manage exposure to climate phenomena including flooding, sea-level rise, cyclonic winds and heatwaves. The project incorporates both supply and demand-side perspectives in one operation, with a geographic scope of three coastal communities: Belize City, San Pedro Town, and Caye Caulker Village. From the demand side, private sector climate resilience is a defensive strategy on the part of enterprises when aiming to enhance their business continuity and to protect property, value chains and critical infrastructure. From the supply side, climate resilience is a business opportunity for local MSMEs in the form of products and services needed to help customers to improve the management of their exposure to climate risks.