In April 2019, the Governments of Belize and the Republic of China (Taiwan) held an agreement signing ceremony for a project entitled Belize Urban Resilience and Disaster Prevention. Since then the project has been well underway.
The first phase of implementation commenced with the review and selection of priority sites for the installation of two water regime monitoring stations and the early warning system technology. These locations were selected according to stakeholder consultation and field surveys that were conducted in July and early September, respectively.
In late September, six Belizean delegates from various ministries and departments embarked on a two-week-long training tour in Taiwan. The training tour allowed delegates to observe the mechanisms, technology and standard operating procedures of Taiwan’s exemplary Disaster Management program. Furthermore, the participants were able to identify mechanisms and technologies that can be integrated into Belize’s Disaster Management Protocols.
The tour involved theoretical and first-hand experience and knowledge exchange in the areas of Water Disaster Prevention, Rescue, Mitigation and Adaptation, Disaster Management Standard Operating Procedures, Disaster Preparedness, and Risk Reduction. It also encompassed site visits to key agencies involved in Taiwan’s Disaster Management.
A three-day in-country training will take place in Belize from November 5th to 7th, 2019. The training will focus on Flood Model Development and Applications, Flood Management, Low Impact Developments, Flood Warning System Planning, Artificial Intelligence and Internet of things (AIOT), Resilient Communities, and Disaster Preparedness and Response.
The Belize Urban Resilience and Disaster Prevention Project is a US$1.2M project that will be executed in a span of three years by the Government of Belize, through the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Forestry, The Environment, Sustainable Development and Immigration and in collaboration with the Taiwan Technical Mission in Belize.
