On March 11, 2026, Belize launched a new sustainability program focused on conservation and tourism. This is a partnership between Belize Tourism and the Protected Areas Conservation Trust (PACT). The program strengthens commitment to sustainable tourism and protected area management.
The Protected Areas Tourism Enhancement Program aims to enhance the visitor experience while supporting conservation efforts and community development within national protected areas. At launch, the program’s first funded cohort was introduced, comprising three organizations.
The projects were selected by a committee comprised of representatives from BTB, PACT, Tourism, Youth and Sports, Diaspora Relations and the National Biodiversity Agency. The project owners are Belize Karst Habitat Conservation, Turneffe Atoll Sustainability Association and Belize Audubon Society.
Sustainable conservation and tourism projects
Projects for the first cohort will support improving and preserving tourism in Belize.
- Belize Karst Habitat Conservation (BKHC): Implementation of the Thousand Feet Falls Tourism Enhancement Project. This includes upgrading roads, installing solar power systems, and renovating mixed-use buildings.
- Turneffe Atoll Sustainability Association (TASA): Sustainable Tourism and Conservation Development – Turneffe Atoll Project. This includes the construction of a new dock, a shaded seating area, an observation deck, a gift shop and a ranger outpost with radar technology.
- Belize Audubon Society (BAS): Implementation of a sustainable tourism and community development project in St. Herman’s Blue Hole National Park. This includes trail and cave passage rehabilitation, parking and facility upgrades, and cave tour training.
soul. Orlando Habet, Minister of Sustainable Development, Climate Change and Solid Waste Management, praised the partnership. “It reflects our shared national understanding that sustainable tourism depends on healthy ecosystems, and healthy ecosystems depend on sustained investment and management,” he said.
