The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) and its partner the Meteorological Institute (INSMET) in Cuba, conducted a series of training workshops between February 11 and March 14, 2019 to assist Belize with its National Communication to the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (UNFCCC) .
The trainings which culminated with a ‘Gender and Communication’ workshop, were held in collaboration with the National Climate Change Office (NCCO) from Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Forestry, the Environment, Sustainable Development and Immigration in Belize and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) .

Gender and Communication

The two-day ‘Gender and Communication’ workshop was held from March 13 to 14, at the National Trade Show Grounds’ Agriculture Conference room in Belmopan City. It was facilitated by Mrs. Martha Fernandez, Information and Communication Specialist of the Cuban Institute of Marine Sciences (ICIMAR), and Dr. Elizabeth Miranda, Senior Professor in the Latin American Faculty for Social Sciences (FLACSO), University of Havana. The workshop aimed to build the capacity of Technical Officers from the sectors involved in the 4th National Communication by looking at the various gender integrated approaches, communication strategies and communicative products that were utilized by Cuba’s Third National Communication that can be taken into account for Belize’s National Communication.

Participants of the Gender and Communication workshop

Climate Modelling Consultation Meetings for Agriculture, Water, Coastal Zone and Fisheries Sectors

Climate Modelling consultation and meetings were also held with officers in the agriculture, water, coastal zone and fisheries departments of the Belize government. These meetings were held by the Centre in partnership with the Cuban Institute of Meteorology (INSMET), the National Climate Change Office (NCCO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and ran from February 26 to March 1, 2019.
The meetings which were held in the Centre’s training room focused on determining the climate modelling data needs for key sectors such as the Water, Agriculture, Coastal Zone and Fisheries sectors to produce sector-specific climate impact maps.
These sectors will be investigated as part of Belize’s Sector-Based Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessment which is to be conducted under Belize’s Fourth National Communication and First Biennial Update Report to the UNFCCC Project which is being implemented by the NCCO. The sessions, included consultation with stakeholders and personnel within a sector.

A subsequent meeting was held on Friday, March 8, 2019 at the NEMO conference room in Belmopan to build Belize’s capacity and increase the country’s knowledge about climate change to build resilience.
Dr. Arnoldo Bezamilla Morlot and Dr. Abel Centella from INSMET, Cuba shared the climate models they developed for the fisheries, water, coastal zone and agriculture sectors based on the previous planning sessions. The meeting concluded with review, feedback and discussion of the outputs of the climate modelling exercise.

4th National Communication Workshop

On February 20, 2019, a “National Communication Partnership Workshop” facilitated by Dr. Eduardo Planos, Director for Cuba’s 3rd National Communication, from INSMET and Dr. Abel Centella, Director of INSMET, was held at the George Price Center for Peace and Development in Belmopan City.
The workshop was intended to build the capacity of technical officers from the various relevant Government Ministries and Departments in the area of coastal zone and sea level by focusing on measurement tools, statistical analysis and modelling methods, and community engagement. The workshop was carried out as part of the Fourth National Communication and First Biennial Update Report Project to the United National Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) which is being implemented by the National Climate Change Office (NCCO) to supplement existing national activities geared towards building Belize’s Climate Resilience.

The workshop was attended by 14 representatives from Institutions including the National Meteorology Service, National Climate Change Office, CCCCC, Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Ministry of Public Works, National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO), Fisheries Department and National Hydrological Service (NHS).

Coastal Zone, Sea Level Rise, and Related Processes Capacity Building Workshop

Dr. Marcelino Hernández Gonzalez, Cuban Coastal Zone Expert in session

The four-day capacity building “Coastal Zone, Sea Level Rise, and Related Processes” workshop facilitated by Dr. Marcelino Hernández Gonzalez, Cuban Coastal Zone Expert, was held during the period of February 11 – 14 , 2019, at the Coastal Zone Management Authority and Institute’s Conference Room in Belize City. It was made possible through the collaboration of the Centre, NCCO, UNDP and Cuba’s Institute for Marine Sciences (ICIMAR). The purpose of the workshop was to build the capacity of technical officers from the various relevant Government Ministries and Departments on the area of coastal zone and sea level by focusing on measurement tools, statistical analysis and modelling methods, and community engagement. The workshop was carried out as part of the Fourth National Communication and First Biennial Update Report Project to the United National Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) which is being implemented by the National Climate Change Office (NCCO) to supplement existing national activities geared towards building Belize Climate Resilience.

Participants with their certificates

For more information about the training workshops, contact: Mr. Ahnivar Peralta at aperalta@caribbeanclimate.bz.