This study introduces an approach for assessing the combined risk to marine habitats from multiple human activities, and applies it to coral reefs, mangrove forests, and seagrass beds in Belize to inform the design of the country’s first Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) Plan. The authors map the current distribution of coastal and ocean activities and develop three scenarios for zoning these activities. They then estimate ecosystem risk under the current and three future scenarios. Current levels of risk vary spatially among the nine coastal planning regions in Belize.
The study finds that, compared to the current scenario, the future scenario that harmonizes conservation and development goals results in a 20 percent reduction in the area of high-risk habitat while also increasing the extent of several ocean uses. These results were used to inform a component of Belize’s ICZM Plan, and the application of this model illustrates an approach that can be used broadly by coastal and ocean planners across the globe to assess risk to habitats.
Related Case Studies
This case study explores the decision-making process that led up to the design of Belize’s first integrated coastal zone management plan, officially approved by the government in August 2016. It involves ecosystem service modeling, stakeholder participation, and spatial planning, and it assesses risk to three coastal-marine habitats posed by eight human uses. The study quantifies current and future delivery of three ecosystem services: protection from storms, catch and revenue from lobster fishing, and tourism expenditures to identify a preferred zoning scheme.
This chapter of Conservation for the Anthropocene Ocean provides a discussion on experiences with using transdisciplinary approaches and ecosystem services to inform two government-led spatial planning processes in the Caribbean: Integrated Coastal Zone Management in Belize and Sustainable Development Planning in The Bahamas.
This case study applies an ecosystem services framework to understand how human activities affect the flow of benefits, including models that quantify services provided by corals, mangroves, and seagrasses. This information is then used within an extensive engagement process to design a national spatial plan for Belize's coastal zone. This process makes Belize's coastal spatial plan the first of its kind.
This case study summarizes lessons learned from the MIA-Belize Project and discusses regional mercury activities that address mercury management in the Caribbean.