Climate Risk Profile: Belize

The report provides a comprehensive climate risk profile for Belize, detailing observed and projected climatic changes, their impacts on biodiversity and livelihoods, and vulnerability rankings for specific marine and terrestrial communities. It recommends a suite of nature-based solutions (NbS) and gender-responsive strategies to enhance climate resilience in protected areas.

• Belize has seen a 0.45°C rise in mean annual air temperatures since 1960, and average sea surface temperatures increased by approximately 1.25°C between 2004 and 2024.
• Future projections for the next century include a 1°C–2°C rise in mean surface air temperatures, a 50% decline in mean annual rainfall, and a sea level rise of more than 9 cm by 2050.
• Climate change is driving significant ecosystem degradation, including coral bleaching events, sargassum influxes, and the potential loss of nearly all coral reefs if temperatures increase by 2°C.
• Livelihoods in agriculture, fisheries, and tourism are severely impacted; farmers face reduced crop yields due to drought and flooding, while fisherfolk must travel further to sea as fish stocks decline.
• Vulnerability varies by community; among marine communities, Placencia and Sarteneja are the most vulnerable, while Hattieville and Mahogany Heights are the most vulnerable terrestrial communities.
• Gender and social disparities exacerbate vulnerability, with women often lacking the financial safety nets of men and facing barriers to land and resource ownership.
• The report recommends specific nature-based solutions (NbS) for adaptation, such as coral reef and mangrove restoration for marine areas, and reforestation and climate-smart agroecological practices for the Maya Forest Corridor.

APA

Jang, N., Tablada, S., Vasquez, M., Surya, G., Rathbone, V., Jones, K., & Elsen, P. (2025). Climate Risk Profile: Belize. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2025-04/belize-climate-risk-profile.pdf

Chicago

Jang, Nicole, Sherlene Tablada, Marydelene Vasquez, Gautam Surya, Vanessa Rathbone, Kendall Jones, and Paul Elsen. Climate Risk Profile: Belize. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2025. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2025-04/belize-climate-risk-profile.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{jang2025climate, author = {Jang, Nicole and Tablada, Sherlene and Vasquez, Marydelene and Surya, Gautam and Rathbone, Vanessa and Jones, Kendall and Elsen, Paul}, title = {{Climate Risk Profile: Belize}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2025}, month = apr, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2025-04/belize-climate-risk-profile.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }