It has been announced that in January 2020, Belize will assume Pro Tempore Presidency of the Mesoamerican Integration and Development Project, a space led by the Foreign Ministry of the 10 countries that are members of the regional project.

Belize’s Pro Tempore Presidency of the project will be for a period of six (6) months, during which time a sector leadership segment corresponding to Disaster Risk Management will be included, through which the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) will coordinate actions of the Mesoamerican Network of Integral Risk Management.

The announcement comes on the heels of a regional meeting in Mexico City last week (September 26) which was attended by Belize’s Minister of National Emergency Management, Honorable Edmond Castro and NEMO Corozal District Coordinator Ronnie Hernandez.

The platform of the Mesoamerican Network of Integral Risk Management is a virtual tool which makes available to governments and relevant institutions and agencies the information products generated for the identification of threats and vulnerabilities, as well as geospatial information in terms of cartography, agrology, cadastre and geography. The map layers are guaranteed by the governments that upload them both nationally and regionally.

The platform used for these maps has the ability to run scenarios on the possible effects that various natural events may cause, enabling NEMO to focus its planning on targeted areas of highest vulnerability.