Opportunities for climate-compatible coastal tourism: Lessons from Belize

This case study describes a CDKN-supported project in Belize that assessed the vulnerability of the coastal tourism sector to climate change and promoted the integration of adaptive management into national policy. The project emphasized the use of 'grey-green' infrastructure and stakeholder collaboration to balance economic growth with the preservation of critical coastal ecosystems.

• The coastal tourism sector in Belize is highly vulnerable to climate change, with an assessment finding that up to 70% of the sector is at risk. Vulnerabilities include threats to natural assets from biodiversity loss, habitat fragmentation, coastal erosion, and inundation, as well as damage to built infrastructure from more intense storms, hurricanes, and flooding.
• Non-climate-related development practices, specifically coastal deforestation and the clearance of mangroves for tourism and urban growth, exacerbate climate risks. These practices increase the exposure of infrastructure and populations to threats and often lead to the installation of 'hard' coastal defences like sea walls, which can accelerate erosion further along the coast.
• The project contributed to significant policy shifts, most notably the Government of Belize's adoption of a national integrated coastal zone management plan in February 2016. This was accompanied by nine regional development guidelines and plans to revise national mangrove regulations and the Belize coastal zone management act to be more 'climate smart'.
• The use of 'green' or 'grey-green' infrastructure—combining natural vegetation with built techniques—has been promoted as a superior alternative to concrete sea walls. In areas like the Placencia Peninsula, replanting mangroves has shown high success rates (98% to 99%) and provided cost-effective erosion prevention and aesthetic benefits for tourism developers.
• Project success was driven by translating climate risks into business-relevant language and using visual tools, such as an online interactive map, to engage private sector stakeholders. Forging partnerships with local NGOs and grassroots groups was essential for disseminating information and building trust within communities.
• The project faced several operational challenges, including a short timeframe (18 months) and limited funding, which hindered long-term stakeholder engagement. Additionally, the lack of downscaled national datasets forced the team to rely on a mixture of global projections, historic trends, and local traditional knowledge.

APA

Bood, N., Fish, M., Clarke-Samuels, C., Canto, M., & Cho-Ricketts, L. (2016). Opportunities for climate-compatible coastal tourism: Lessons from Belize. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/CDKN_Belize_Inside_Story_final_web-res-002.pdf

Chicago

Bood, Nadia, Marianne Fish, Chantalle Clarke-Samuels, Maritza Canto, and Leandra Cho-Ricketts. Opportunities for climate-compatible coastal tourism: Lessons from Belize. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2016. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/CDKN_Belize_Inside_Story_final_web-res-002.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bood |first1=Nadia |last2=Fish |first2=Marianne |last3=Clarke-Samuels |first3=Chantalle |last4=Canto |first4=Maritza |last5=Cho-Ricketts |first5=Leandra |title=Opportunities for climate-compatible coastal tourism: Lessons from Belize |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=June 2016 |url=http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/CDKN_Belize_Inside_Story_final_web-res-002.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bood2016opportunities, author = {Bood, Nadia and Fish, Marianne and Clarke-Samuels, Chantalle and Canto, Maritza and Cho-Ricketts, Leandra}, title = {{Opportunities for climate-compatible coastal tourism: Lessons from Belize}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2016}, month = jun, url = {http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/CDKN_Belize_Inside_Story_final_web-res-002.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }