Customary indigenous modes of living operate upon an ethos of community-driven conservation and stewardship toward the natural world. In Belize the indigenous peoples that BENIC represents live and are custodians of the remaining forests and biodiversity rich areas. The landscape and seascape strategy of the GEFSGP to biodiversity protection and landscape stewardship speaks directly to these forests and critical landscapes where the Indigenous Peoples of Belize are found. In this context the overall goal of this project is to support the local efforts of the indigenous peoples in being stewards for forests, lands and waterways from the mountains of the interior to the wetlands and coastal plains of Belize.
Specifically, this project aims to advance the institutional strengthening of BENIC and capacity building for the three distinct realities of the Indigenous Peoples of Belize ? Maya Q?eqchi/Mopan, Maya Yucatec and Garifuna ? to enable a more active participation in national dialogues and educational awareness on the efforts to biodiversity protection, climate change mitigation strategies and achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. To this end, this project will provide support that will allow the BENIC national members to improve their information and decision making process; support their participation in national dialogues that includes indigenous issues; carry-out educational workshops and environmental stewardship sensitization in their respective constituencies based on their constituency?s identified priority.