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Posted By: Marty Coastal Zone Considers Climate Change - 10/10/12 01:08 PM
The Belize Coastal Zone Management Authority and Institute is hosting a three-day Regional Conference called, "Integrating Climate Change Adaptation Planning into Coastal Zone Management using Ecosystem Services".

There are experts from all over including Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago, Colombia, Guatemala, Canada, the United States and Belize.

They are discussing the realities of climate change and how we'll all have to make space for each other:..

Representative
"Climate change has been affecting the world for a long time. We can measure increase in temperature and changes in storm intensity and rising sea levels. Even if you believe none of that is happening what this conference is doing is really important because its helping people plan for how to used their coastlines and marine waters in sensible ways so that human activity don't bump up against each other and cause conflict. Fishing and recreation and tourism activities can occur together in a way that neutrally beneficial for as many people as possible."

"Certain areas are much more important for protecting livelihoods and property and people safety than others, so you can get these overlapping these win win areas and other cases you need to say okay this area we can develop - it will boost tourism revenues and it won't cause reductions as much and livelihoods for lobster fishers. You can find places where development has less of an impact on lobster and property damage and other places where it would have huge impact and you can use that information to say okay where can we allow development? Where can we have fishing? Where can we have recreation - so it minimizes the conflicts."

The conference is being held at the Princess and ends on Thursday.

Channel 7

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