Author name: Blythe Thompson

News & Events, Opportunities

Join Our Team – Monitoring and Evaluation Officer

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The Belize Fund for a Sustainable Future is seeking a strategic and detail-oriented Monitoring and Evaluation Officer to join our team! This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to Belize’s sustainable future by supporting the effective tracking, analysis, and reporting of conservation projects funded through our Grants Award Program and Government Strategic Allocation. The successful candidate will play a key role in measuring the impact of our investments and ensuring accountability to environmental and social safeguard standards. Key Responsibilities: Candidate Qualifications: See full Terms Of Reference here: Remuneration: Compensation will be commensurate with the candidate’s experience and suitability for the role. How to Apply: Interested and qualified candidates should submit the following documents:   Application Deadline: August 25th, 2025 by 5:00 PM Email: jobs@belizefund.bz  Subject Line: Monitoring and Evaluation Officer Note: Incomplete applications will not be considered. Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.

News & Events

On the Water with Belize’s Fishers

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Over the past two days, our team hit the water for a boat-to-boat outreach with fishers from Chunox, Copper Bank, and Libertad. We spoke with them about the Belize Fund’s upcoming Call for Proposals, opening August 25th, and how they can access grant funding to support their livelihoods and ideas for sustainable fishing. 🐟🦞 📣 Fishers are at the heart of our ocean communities, and we’re working to ensure they have the tools, info, and support to benefit from this opportunity. From giant lobsters to nurse shark encounters, our Program Manager, Josue, and Project Officer, Patty, got to see fishers in their element and learn more about life at sea. 🦈🛶 We’ll continue engaging fishers across Belize to build awareness and promote healthy oceans, sustainable practices, and thriving coastal communities.

News & Events, Opportunities

Join Our Team – Communications Assistant

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The Belize Fund for a Sustainable Future is seeking a proactive and creative Communications Assistant to join our team! This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to Belize’s sustainable future by supporting strategic communications efforts that highlight community-driven conservation initiatives and amplify the stories of local partners through engaging content and outreach. Key Responsibilities: Candidate Qualifications: See full Terms Of Reference here: Remuneration Compensation will be based on the candidate’s experience and qualifications. How to Apply: Interested and qualified candidates should submit: 📅 Deadline: August 8th, 2025📧 Email: jobs@belizefund.bz📌 Subject Line: Communications Assistant

News & Events

Belize Fund hosted a two-day Media Tour to some of Belize’s most iconic marine protected areas, on June 26–27, 2025.

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Over June 26–27, the Belize Fund for a Sustainable Future hosted a two-day Media Tour to some of Belize’s most iconic marine protected areas — Gladden Spit & Silk Cayes Marine Reserve, Laughing Bird Caye National Park, and the Sapodilla Cayes Marine Reserve. We were joined by representatives from 7 News Belize, Love FM, News 5, Hot Off The Press, San Pedro Sun, and Climate Spotlight, who got a front-row seat to conservation in action. Day 1: At Gladden Spit and Laughing Bird Caye, journalists heard from our grantee partners: They also took to the water to snorkel and experience the vibrant marine life these MPAs protect. Day 2: The tour continued to Hunting Caye in the Sapodilla Cayes Marine Reserve, where shared insights on enforcement, biodiversity protection, and expanding Belize’s ocean protection zones to 25%. Through its Grants Award Program and Government Strategic Allocation, the Belize Fund supports the stewardship of 14 MPAs covering over 612,000 hectares — funding local innovation, strengthening enforcement, and ensuring long-term sustainability for generations to come. This media tour helped connect storytelling with science, giving journalists a deeper look into the people and partnerships shaping Belize’s ocean future.

News & Events

Announcing the Winners of our Ocean Awareness Poetry Contest

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🎉 Congratulations to the Winners of our Ocean Awareness Poetry Contest! 🐚🌊 We’re proud to celebrate the young voices who used the power of creative expressions to speak up for our oceans. Under the theme “Wonder: Sustaining What Sustains Us”, these poems captured creativity, care, and a call to action about the ocean’s beauty, power, and importance in our lives, and why ocean health matters. A heartfelt thank you to all participants who inspired us with your words and passion! 💙 Standard 4 1st Place – La’Briah Dawson 2nd Place – Josse Lattibadare 3rd Place – Susana Penner Standard 5 1st Place – Anthony Quan 2nd Place – Eryn Peters 3rd Place – Juliana Belisle Standard 6 1st Place – Dylan Teul 2nd Place – Conner Ferguson

News & Events

Upcoming information sessions on accessing grant funding

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📢 We’re inviting all interested individuals to join our upcoming information sessions this July to learn how to access grant funding through the Belize Fund’s upcoming Call for Proposals, opening in August 2025. 🌊🇧🇿 These sessions will walk you through the application process, share details on funding opportunities, and help ensure you’re ready to submit a strong concept paper. 🗓️ Mark your calendars! Don’t miss this opportunity to engage, ask questions, and explore how your work can help protect and sustain Belize’s marine and coastal resources. 🐠🌍

News & Events

Belize Fund’s 2025 Ocean Awareness Poetry Contest

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In celebration of Ocean Awareness Month, the Belize Fund is launching a national poetry contest for primary school students under the World Ocean Day 2025 theme “Wonder: Sustaining What Sustains Us.” This contest invites young ones to think about the ocean’s beauty, power, and importance in our lives, and why ocean health matters. Through poetry, students will explore how wonder leads to care, connection, and action for a more sustainable future.  Contest Duration: June 16 – 23, 2025  Winners Announced: June 30, 2025  Eligibility: Open to students enrolled in Standard 4, 5, and 6 in any primary school in Belize.  How it Works:  Each participant will write an original poem on this year’s theme and submit a video reciting the poem (no longer than 60 seconds). Poems may be recited in English or Belizean Creole.  In their video recorded poem, students should clearly express:  Rules and Guidelines:  Judging Criteria:  Prizes:   Winners in Standard 4, 5, and 6:  Disclaimer:   By submitting an entry, participants agree and grant permission for full use by the Belize Fund to be displayed, distributed, reproduced, and created as derivative works of the texts, in whole or in part, in any media currently existing or subsequently developed, for any educational, promotional, publicity, exhibition, archival, scholarly, or all other standard purposes of the Belize Fund’s communication activities and product development related to Belize coastal and marine environment. 

News & Events

Update from the 2025 UN Ocean Conference in Nice, France!

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The first-ever Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Conservation Trust Fund Community of Practice was held, bringing together the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund, Micronesia Conservation Trust, Niue Ocean Wide Trust, SeyCCAT, and our very own Belize Fund for a Sustainable Future! As our Executive Director Dr. Leandra Cho-Ricketts shared: “It was great to meet other SIDS CTFs who share similar challenges and experiences. We discussed the creation of a Community of Practice to bring SIDS CTFs to the forefront, and how we can engage multilaterals and donors for a place at the table to access funding directly, to mobilize this to communities on the ground.” With record ocean heat and acidification threatening marine ecosystems worldwide, this collaboration couldn’t be more urgent. The Community of Practice represents a unified force of island nations leading the charge for ocean health. Together, we’re working to make sure small nations like Belize get the funding they need, and that the money reaches the communities driving local action for our ocean every day.🌐➡️🏝️ This is what ocean leadership looks like: small islands, big impact! 🏝️✨ 📌 Special thanks to Kate Brown for capturing the energy of the session. Participation in Seaside Chat at UNOC At the UN Ocean Conference (UNOC) Seaside Chat, Dr. Leandra Cho-Ricketts shared how Belize is pioneering sustainable ocean management through innovative financing models and data-driven approaches. She highlighted the Belize Fund as a private Conservation Trust Fund (CTF), established in March 2022 to manage conservation payments from Belize’s Blue Bond. As the first CTF of its kind born from a sovereign Blue Bond deal, the Fund serves as a critical financing mechanism to help Belize meet its marine conservation and blue economy goals, operating with transparent, independent governance and aligned with national strategies such as the Marine Spatial Plan and Blue Economy Strategy. Dr. Cho-Ricketts emphasized the importance of ocean accounts in tracking progress, ensuring transparency, and unlocking sustainable financing opportunities. These data systems support measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) of investments and pave the way for emerging financing mechanisms like blue carbon and biodiversity credits. She also outlined the Fund’s impact to date: In advancing 30×30 and ocean finance, the Belize Fund goes beyond project funding, it enables systems change and multi-stakeholder governance. This includes financing for participatory marine spatial planning, legal designations of biodiversity zones, enforcement, ecosystem restoration, and community-based solutions aligned with national and global frameworks. She concluded with an important lesson: Getting funds to the ground is complex, requiring flexible and adaptive mechanisms to remain fit-for-purpose.

News & Events

Belize Fund participates in Gales Point Government School’s Education May Fair

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Thank you to Gales Point Government School and the Parent-Teacher Association for inviting the Belize Fund to your Education May Fair! We had an amazing time chatting with students about Belize’s incredible marine environment, from the brain corals to the whale sharks, and why keeping our ocean healthy matters for everyone, especially them. It was inspiring to see how curious and engaged they were as we explored how our daily actions connect to the sea. The conversations about protecting and conserving our ocean space as proud Belizeans were truly meaningful. 🌊 We’re hopeful that these young minds will grow into the next generation of ocean guardians. 💫🌱

News & Events

PACT and Belize Fund Partner to Strengthen Conservation Financing in Belize 

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(City of Belmopan, April 7, 2025) – The Protected Areas Conservation Trust (PACT) and the Belize Fund for a Sustainable Future (Belize Fund) have formalized a partnership to enhance conservation financing for Belize’s National Protected Areas System (NPAS). Today’s signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) marks a significant step in ensuring coordinated and effective financing for the country’s protected areas and natural resources.  This agreement sets the foundation for collaboration in key areas, including joint resource mobilization, standardized conservation financing policies, stakeholder engagement, and coordinated participation in international conservation forums. The partnership also seeks to increase public awareness of conservation efforts through joint campaigns and a National Conservation Summit in 2025.  “Today, is a powerful statement to our partners in conservation, in sustainable development, and in general to every Belizean, by both PACT and the Belize Fund, that protecting our environment and ensuring a sustainable future for our people is not just a priority- it is an obligation,” expressed Hon. Orlando Habet, Minister of Sustainable Development, Climate Change, and Solid Waste Management.   “By working together, we can avoid duplication of efforts and create more strategic and impactful conservation financing for Belize,” said Dr. Leandra Cho-Ricketts, Executive Director of the Belize Fund. Noting the significance of sustainable financing for protected areas, she added “This partnership aligns with our mission to invest in Belize’s marine and conservation priorities. By combining efforts, we can maximize the impact of our resources and support meaningful, science-driven conservation and community projects.”  “Our organizations have collectively invested over BZ$64 million to advance Belize’s conservation goals. Through this Memorandum of Understanding, we reaffirm our commitment to our unified mission of safeguarding Belize’s natural heritage and supporting the development of our communities and partners who share this responsibility,” shared Mr. Abil Castañeda, Executive Director of PACT, emphasizing the importance of this partnership.   The MOU will be in effect for five years, with both organizations conducting regular assessments and joint initiatives that enhance Belize’s conservation landscape. Both PACT and the Belize Fund are committed to supporting Belize’s National Protected Areas System, which includes a network of protected areas established to safeguard the country’s natural and cultural resources and ecosystem services. 

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