PACT and Belize Fund for a Sustainable Future today signed a Memorandum of Understanding which will enhance their conservation financing for Belize's National Protected Areas System. The Minister of Sustainable Development told us about what the agreement aims to accomplish.

Orlando Habet, Minister of Sustainable Development
"This Memorandum of understanding is very significant because it brings together PACT and Belize Fund for a Sustainable Future which are two organisations. One has more than 30 years, PACT. And the other started about 3 years ago, but both have been working on conservation and also looking at financing for conservation. Of course PACT having more experience and the staff who have been there for some time and also because they have a finance unit that looks at climate finance and especially through the adaptation fund and the BSFS who have been there as I mentioned have been there three years ago but have been looking at more specifically at Marine conservation especially in marine protected area. It is really a private organisation which came out of the Blue bond, it needs support so I think by bringing together the resources from staff and personnel looking at the finance mechanisms that are out there and the actual finance that is available. Many times you can't be competing for the same finance especially when it comes to the same country so I think that coming together that way and trying to focus on what they want and planning together it might be a way of trying to get those climate finances for conservation a lot easier."

The Executive Director for PACT says that both NGO's have similar goals and this MOU will enable them to accomplish their long term objectives side by side.

Abil Castaneda, Executive Director, PACT
"So the memorandum we signed today is one of collaboration and strategic partnership with the Belize fund for a sustainable future. Both are funds that were created to support conservation and to finance the sustainable development of our protected areas and the communities that exist around them. And so what we found is that both funds while we are different in genesis and while we are in the case of PACT we are almost 30 years and in the case of Belize fund they have completed their 3rd year of existence, we find we are still facing the very same common issues and common challenges and there are also opportunities that we are missing as we just may not have the resources to be able to mobilise and take advantage of all these opportunities. So this MOU is to do that it is to look at what are the common challenges we are facing and to see If maybe the Belize fund is doing something that is working that PACT can learn from and vice versa it is also there for us to look at where we can mobilise more funds for the protected areas systems rather than doing it individually doing it together."

So where are some of these funds being allocated currently? A large percentage goes towards marine conservation, currently under the Belize Fund for a Sustainable Future.

Leandra Cho Ricketts, Executive Director, Belize Fund for Sustainable Future
"Currently we have a few grants in certain areas we are supporting already and we expect to expand those so we have support currently going to the Belize women's seaweed farmer association. So helping the women farmers develop that seaweed industry into a profitable business and a sustainable business. And then we also have a couple community grants where we are supporting fishing associations and helping them to build their capacity to have more I guess sustainable businesses and I guess sustainable practices to improve their fishing practices, collect data to help inform themselves about how the fisheries are. And so we see more support to the fishing sector, tourism and any other blue business like seaweed farming or if you have other people who want to try other types of mariculture and look at the profit, or feasibility support like that."

Both organizations have collectively invested over 64 million dollars to advance Belize's conservation goals. The MOU will be in effect for the next 5 years.