Project Detail

Building Capacity in Proper Solid Waste Management in Belize's Southern Coastal Communities

The overall goal of this project is to prepare the southern coastal communities to actively participate in the national and regional solid waste management plans and the moratorium on Styrofoam, single use plastic bags and straws.

This project is designed to be a bi-partite complimentary initiative that aims at supporting the blue economy by bringing proper solid waste management and the phasing out of single use plastics from a national to the local level. This will ensure a proactive and appropriate response to change by the communities. The project will involve a series of educational outreach activities focused on solid waste management in all proposed target communities; as well as the execution of a solid waste separation pilot project within the Seine Bight and Hopkins Villages. Community members will be initially involved in a listening and learning component of the educational campaign, and will also actively participate through knowledge sharing sessions, as well as working in the separation of solid waste within their businesses after the necessary knowledge is attained. The aim of this reverse role play is to ensure that a positive attitude is being fostered across all age ranges, which will, in return ensure the sustainability of the project beyond its closure.

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Project Snapshot

Grantee:

Southern Environmental Association

Country:

Belize

Area Of Work:

Biodiversity
International Waters

Operational Phase:

OP6 - Y5 (Jul 19-Jun 20)

Grant Amount:

US$ 24,999.50

Co-Financing Cash:

Co-Financing in-Kind:

US$ 34,850.00

Project Number:

BZE/SGP/OP6/Y5/CORE/IWBE/2019/03

Start Date:

9/2019

End Date:

3/2023

Status:

Satisfactorily Completed

Project Characteristics and Results

Project sustainability

Beneficiaries: Number of females: 255 Number of males: 162 Number of children: 508 Biodiversity-the project is to promote best practices in waste management and as such there is a reduction of pollutants that are dumped in the environment. These non-biodegradables have a significant impact on the environment. The reduction/elimination of this will allow the biodiversity to bloom as there is less to affect the natural life cycle of the plants and animals as the natural habitats are less vulnerable to disruption. Climate Change-this project has helped the participants reduce their carbon footprint as they are encouraging members of their families and the wider community to do the same. This has far reaching effects, not only on land but also on the sea. International Waters- This project forced the participants to look at their surrounding environments differently. They realized that polluting their environments is counter productive. All of the participants are connected to the sea and wetlands/swamps so it became important to them to preserve these waterways as they became aware of the importance to the fishing industry, etc.

Significant Participation of Indigenous Peoples

Implementation will be completed by community members and guided by SEA in collaboration with DOE and BSWaMA. Women from the traditionally indigenous (Garifuna) communities of Hopkins and Seine Bight who are business owners, leaders and head of households are the targeted beneficiaries and owners of the project. Where possible, expertise for design of the project and consultants for the development of communication strategies will be sourced from within the community.

Inovative Financial Mechanisms

Knowledge management is ensured through two key activities which will be executed under Objective 1, which involves the formation and proper functioning of a Project Communication Team (PCT) and the development and execution of a Communication Campaign. This team will be comprised of representatives of key partners from the Belize Solid Waste Management Authority and the Department of the Environment. The roles of these partners are essential in selecting the information which will be communicated through posters, signange, newletters, social media and other forms of advertisement. The PCT will draft a Communication Campaign Plan, which to should ensure (1) the presentation of accurate and relevant information, (2) an appropriate method/form of informational presentation, (3) the timely publication of information. All information published will be done in consultation with key stakeholders of the Village Councils and participating community members. This project has been designed to share information in number of formats which can be referred to in 1.5. Any feedback received during public meetings, focus groups or consultations will be captured by the SEA Education & Outreach Assistant and presented to the PCT for review and incorporation into outreach material.

Capacity - Building Component

SEA has a strong track record in project management including the development of project proposals, and the implementation, financial management, and monitoring and evaluation of projects funded by both local and international donors. Most recently, SEA successfully completed a multi-year $1.3 million Bzd project that sought to improve the management of the organization and the protected areas under its co-management including supporting financial stability initiatives, surveillance and patrol and other program activities. SEA, in partnership with TIDE, BAS and the Belize Fisheries Department are implementing an EU funded project entitled. As a responsibility within this project, SEA conducts Managed Access and Community Stewardship outreach to stakeholder communities buffering Managed Access Area 3, the Area with the largest fishers. Finally, SEA is currently managing five projects valuing over $900,000.00 from international and national donors including MARFund, Belize Marine Fund and PACT funding Boat to Boat Outreach on Managed Access, placement of demarcation and mooring buoys and supporting investment in the SEA owned Laughing Bird Gift Shop.

Promoting Public Awareness of Global Environment

The PCT will be the body responsible for communicating all information relevant to project and would decide on how to best disseminate information based on feedback obtained from community leaders/members and other participants. The development of the Communication Campaign Plan is an essential document which would highlight key education activities including household visits, community meetings and focus group sessions. The second portion of the project will be monitored by the PCT also to ensure that sorting, disposal and data collection is done properly. Detailed, step by step documentation of all activities will be done to ensure that the project can be replicated

Policy Influence

The project contributed towards the operationalization of the legislation banning styrofoam products in Belize.

Gender Focus

This project is especially designed to build the capacity of women within the targeted communities and is also in line with SGP?s Country Programme and UNDP CO Strategic Programming (National Priorities) to empower women, particularly in vulnerable and high risk areas. Every activity is ensured to incorporate the participation of women, a marginalized minority. Even with women as the focal point of this project, there will also be the opportunity for men to become involved via active participation in community meetings, through Village Councils (which are mostly comprised of men) and other activities which will be implemented throughout the duration of the project. The feedback and commitment of both genders is crucially important to the success of the project.

Replication of project activities

Yes, the organization is interested in continuing and replicating the project activities. The ability to increase the knowledge of not only immediate small business but also expand to other businesses and reach national consciousness to further expand the list of banned singleuse plastics and practice proper solid waste management. The organization will seek out any available opportunities to further conduct a similar type(s) of project. The organization recognizes the need to increase the capacity of not just immediate stakeholder communities but the wider society of Belize.

Project Results

Objective 1: The intended result, which is to improve the knowledge of community members
on the Blue Economy through proper solid waste management by the end of the project, was
met, despite throughout the project life span there were major setbacks and delays. The
educational and outreach approach was designed with the intent to have direct community
participation. However, covid-19 hit Belize in early March 2020 which resulted in drastic
changes within the project design. As a result, an online approach was introduced to conduct
school visits, provide distance learning packages, focus group sessions, and workshops to
improve the knowledge of the stakeholders. The school visits served as an avenue to directly
engage young people about the blue economy and their role in phasing out single use plastics.
The small business owners and fisherfolks were critical target groups in their role as direct and
indirect consumers of resources in the marine ecosystem. Women were exposed to the concept
that their waste generation led to waste increase on land which can eventually transfer to a
marine environment. Furthermore, they were introduced to the concept of reducing the number
of single-use plastics on a daily basis through the E-friendly Products Seminar. Fisherfolks in
the various communities were also engaged. The objective was achieved successfully.

All fourteen businesses were being prepared to properly waste disposal as specified in the
project. The pandemic created uncertainty resulting in some businesses closing their doors or
opening sparingly. As of the last review only five businesses, to some extent, are continuing
to sort their waste. Waste was categorized as residual and mixed waste. All residual waste such
as cloth, plastic and paper waste generated from the business was placed within the residual
waste group and mixed waste such as, steel cans, aluminum cans and plastic bottles were
placed in the other group. Upon separating the waste, the village garbage collection personnel
would take the garbage for disposal. Five (5) businesses were able to actively separate
recyclable materials from the selected recyclable waste that was generated from their business.
The five (5) businesses conduct recyclable waste generated from their business such as;
utilizing mayonnaise bottles as pepper sauce bottles, clorox/ oil gallon as plant pots/holders ,
leftover coconut bowls as plant holders, or soup bowls/holders all within their local businesses.
The remaining non-recyclable waste in this case, organic waste was used as fertilizer within
established back yard gardens. The women benefited by receiving biodegradable startup
alternatives to plastic bags, styrofoams and straws to use in their businesses. The pandemic
created significant challenges in the country and to locally owned small businesses.

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