Climate-compatible Tourism Project: Key Summary Findings from Policy Analysis

This policy brief summarizes a review of 39 public policies and laws in Belize to evaluate their support for climate-compatible tourism development. The analysis found a significant gap in the integration of climate change adaptation and resilience into national planning, with only 15% of reviewed documents addressing climate change impacts.

• A review of 39 documents—comprising 24 public policies, strategies, and plans, and 15 laws—revealed that only 15% of these documents considered the effects of climate change and basic options for addressing them.
• The analysis identified that while some policies support sustainable development, they often lack concrete steps for implementation under changing climatic conditions. For example, the Belize National Environmental Policy promotes sustainable use of the environment but fails to provide specific steps for changing climates, and the National Tourism Policy does not address climate change at all.
• Certain high-level frameworks were found to be particularly supportive of climate-compatible tourism. The National Land use Policy Framework includes specific strategies for climate change, flood risks, and tourism land use, while the Climate Change Adaptation Policy mandates government agencies to create adaptation options across multiple sectors, including tourism and energy.
• Several key documents were identified as outdated or lacking in detail, specifically the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan and the National Integrated Coastal Zone Management Strategy for Belize, both of which require revision.
• The report recommends urgent revisions to five priority documents to better address climate risks: the Sustainable Tourism Master Plan (to integrate green climate adaptation), the CZM Act (to protect coastal habitats), the EIA Regulations (to account for the value of nature in combating risks), Mangrove Regulations (to reflect ecosystem services in buffering impacts), and the Horizon 2030 Development Plan (to account for climate change's influence on economic sectors).

APA

Climate and Development Knowledge Network (2014). Climate-compatible Tourism Project: Key Summary Findings from Policy Analysis. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Policy-brief_-policy-analysis.pdf

Chicago

Climate and Development Knowledge Network. Climate-compatible Tourism Project: Key Summary Findings from Policy Analysis. 2014. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Policy-brief_-policy-analysis.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |title=Climate-compatible Tourism Project: Key Summary Findings from Policy Analysis |date=2014 |url=http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Policy-brief_-policy-analysis.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climateanddevelopmentknowledgenetwork2014climatecompatible, author = {{Climate and Development Knowledge Network}}, title = {{Climate-compatible Tourism Project: Key Summary Findings from Policy Analysis}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2014}, url = {http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Policy-brief_-policy-analysis.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }