Environmental monitoring and information management and knowledge creation is critical for understanding the current status and dynamic changes in the state of environment.  Consistent and regular monitoring, research and data analysis provide the essential foundation for adequate policy response and timely and appropriate national decision-making processes.    Thus, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Forestry, Environment, Sustainable Development and Immigration with financial support from the Global Environment Facility and the United Nations Development Programme, is executing a project entitled “Capacity-building for strategic planning and management of natural resource in Belize.”  The Capacity Development project seeks to meet and sustain Rio Convention obligations through a more holistic and cost-effective approach to environmental and natural resource management for shared national development and global environmental priorities.  It is aimed at strengthening institutional and technical capacities for improved monitoring and assessment, natural resource valuation and impact assessment, and resource mobilization.

Effective management of the environment and natural resources protects health, reduces vulnerability to natural disasters, improves livelihoods and productivity, spurs economic growth, and enhances human well-being.  High vulnerability to natural disasters for example is linked with the lack of warning and early response systems and inadequate integration of environmental considerations in development planning.  The environment constitutes a fundamental driver of employment and economic growth in Belize. As articulated in the Growth and Sustainable Development Strategy (GSDS), national development respective policies and strategies must strive to bring development pillars- social, economic and environment into balance so that they work in a synergistic manner to optimize development outcomes. 

Public policies are a key tool for addressing current and future environmental degradation and natural resource use.  Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEA) extends the application of environmental impact assessment (EIA) from projects to policies, programs, and plans.  SEA is a participatory approach for upstreaming environmental and social issues to influence processes for development planning, decision making, and implementation at the strategic level.  At one end of the spectrum, impact-based SEA integrates biophysical environmental considerations into higher levels of decision making by predicting potential effects of policies, plans, and programs on the environment and adopting the corresponding protection and mitigation measures. At the other end of the spectrum, institution-centered SEA aims to mainstream the environment and sustainability across higher levels of policy making by assessing the capability of the institutional and policy framework to detect environmental risks at the macro-level and its capacity to manage them in a timely and effective manner. When SEA centers on impact assessment, it can be defined as “a systematic process for evaluating the environmental consequences of proposed policy, plan or programme initiatives in order to ensure that they are fully included and appropriately addressed at the earliest appropriate stage of decision making on par with economic and social considerations.

The main objective of SEAs is to develop better national policies, plans, and programs. The key benefits of SEA are as follows:

Advances the sustainability agenda: SEA provides a means for systematically incorporating environmental, as well as social and economic, considerations into policies, plans, and programs. Ensuring environmental sustainability.  SEA can be used as a tool to achieve goals and target described in the National Environment Policy and Strategy, NBSAP, GSDS, Horizon 2030 and other planning documents.

Strengthens policy, plan, and program decision-making processes: SEA facilitates consultation and public participation in the evaluation of environmental aspects of policy, plan, or program formulation. Consultation and public participation at the beginning of the planning process brings valuable information into the SEA and thus increases the transparency and ownership at all phases of the planning process from start to final acceptance

Allows for consideration of cumulative and synergistic effects: SEA allows for the consideration of a wider range of impacts and alternatives that are often not considered at the project level.

Facilitates the implementation of more environmentally sustainable projects: SEA helps identify the most practicable alternatives for achieving positive outcomes and minimizing potentially adverse effects of policies, plans, and programs, thereby resulting in the implementation of more environmentally sustainable projects. As well, this process establishes the framework for any subsequent project-level environmental assessments.