By the year 2022, the Belize Tourism Industry Association is hoping that all its members will have transitioned to become more eco-friendly in the way they do business. The Association is encouraging all tourism stakeholders to cut back on business practices that harm the environment, especially Belize's marine ecosystem.
That can include adopting more eco-friendly ways to get rid of waste, conserving on water usage, and adopting renewable sources of energy to power their resorts, hotels, and business places: all in an effort to reduce the industry's carbon footprint.
It's an ambitious project which the BTIA calls, Paving the Road to Sustainable Tourism in Belize, and today, the organization held a 3-hour symposium to start the conversation with its members. 7News was there, and we spoke with the Executive Director about the zeal to make this cultural change:
John Burgos - Executive Director, BTIA
"I wanted to show the Healthy Reef Report, which basically was presented last year, and this shows a clear depiction of the state of the Mesoamerican Reef. And as you know, the Mesoamerican Reef comprises of Mexico, Belize Guatemala and Honduras, but the vast majority of it being located in Belize. And if you look at the section - unfortunately, the key thing that we need to recognize is that the Central Belize Barrier Reef in MAR in critical condition. And if you look at the red, at the section there on the center, that's is the area that we are talking about. That is the area that sits right in front of Belize and all the islands that form part of that. So, it is crucial for us to recognize that we are at a point where we need to accept the realities of where we are falling short in protecting our environment."
"We're gonna be taking on a project that's gonna be promoting best practices, green economy, blue economy, and sustainable tourism national. We want the cultural change for the way business is done in Belize. We want people to put their environment first, and then their economic benefits second. But, it's all connected, and we're gonna also be going 1 step farther by providing the technical assistance, support, and expertise to be available."
"You look at the global reports. You look at the regional reports. You look at the local reports, where we stand in terms of pollution, carbon footprint, the quality of our water, watersheds, the quality of our tourism product. We need to do something; we need to take action."
"Everyone thinks that you know, for me to implement that's a waste water treatment system that's gonna cost me $10,000 US. But, people look at the long term of it, it's an investment, that's gonna pay off, 5-10 years period, and you're gonna see how much money you save. The same when when you're using green energy, reducing the amount of energy generated by the burning of fuel, you see the amount of savings that you're gonna experience on a yearly basis."
Anthony Mai - Representative, DOE
"It is quite evident how all the players today have the same goal. And so, from the Government's standpoint, our responsibility is environmental protection. The BTIA invited us to be a part of this initiative, and their goals are the same. And some other key players within the room, we all have the same vision."
In a press release the BTIA said, quote, "We want to change the culture of doing business in Belize. We must change for the betterment of our country and of our natural resources." End quote.
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