The Government of Belize, the Nature Conservancy, and the World Wildlife Fund are working together to formalize a Project Finance for Permanence focused on coastal and marine ecosystems. Today, at a side event in Glasgow, Scotland, PM Brice�o signed an MOU with the two conservation organization that will see up to thirty percent of Belize's oceans protected by 2025. Similar PFP models have been Costa Rica and British Colombia.� The signing was live streamed today.

Prime Minister John Brice�o

"Little did I know, a year ago when we got elected that we would be working on something like this. But, it is certainly quite exciting I said earlier, that by signing this MOU with two of the largest NGOs in the world of conservation, It certainly will help us to be able to ensure that we keep up to our commitments. Many instances, individuals, and companies and governments, I did not want to start with governments, sign on to agreements and agrees to certain things and they don't. But, through this MOU, it will help to guide us and steer us to ensure we live to the commitments. Because the MOU is also tied to the announcement on setting up of the PFP that will be used to finance a lot of the marine conservation work that we are doing and need to continue to do in Belize. So, certainly for me as the Prime Minister it is a privilege and honor to sign on behalf of the people of Belize."

Jennifer Morris, CEO, The Nature Conservancy

"Our job in the donor community and the NGO community is to be there to provide the support that we can for them to realize their goals. Because it is amazing– all of these proclamations that were made today, the billions of dollars. But, at the end of the day, if his government doesn't have the budget, or the communities on the ground don't have the incentives and monies they need to conserve, it is all platitudes. So that is our goal, to make sure that you all have the resources you need."

PFP Offers Access to Additional Funding Opportunities

According to the Prime Minister, the PFP also offers small island states like Belize access to reserves for funding in permanence.

Prime Minister John Brice�o

"Belize has been on the map when it comes to the issue of conservation. As it is, we have more than thirty percent of our lands already in some form of protection. With this agreement, we expect that by 2026 we will have thirty percent of our oceans under some sort of protections. But, what is important with what we are doing today, is that this gives us now the opportunity not only to have what you call paper reserves, but the PFP gives an opportunity to countries, especially small countries like ours that has difficulties accessing funding, to be able to ensure that we can have funding in permanence, as what PFP stands for. For us in Belize, we are very excited about it."

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