BTB, BTIA and Belize Fund partner to launch relief grants for sargassum cleanup

Tourism industry stakeholders affected by the unprecedented level of Sargassum mats hitting the country now have access to small grants to support cleanup initiatives. Today, the Belize Hotel Association (BHA) and Belize Tourism Industry Association (BTIA) teamed up with the Belize Fund for a Sustainable Future to launch the Sargassum Relief Program. The quarter-million-dollar program sponsored by the Belize Fund will give members of the BTIA and BHA access to up to $5,000 in individual grant to assist with sargassum cleanup and coastline protection. The organizations held a signing ceremony in Belize City this morning, which marked the official opening of the application process. Reynaldo Malik, President of the Belize Hotel Association, explained that members affected by sargassum can apply to either the BHA or the BTIA for a grant. Those who submit applications to both organizations will only receive one payout. 

Reynaldo Malik, President, Belize Hotel Association: “It’s a collaborative effort, first of all.  It’s both the BTIA and the BHA working collaboratively together. While we did have to submit separate applications to the Belize Fund to access the monies they understand and the undertaking between us and the Belize Fund that this is a joint effort. So while you can apply to either organization, you can either send your application through the BTIA’s Secretariat or through the BHA’s secretariat. But the vetting process, the application vetting process is a joint one between both organizations as well as just representation from the Ministry of Tourism and Blue Economy and the Belize Fund.  All applications are going to be considered together. So therefore if you send an application to the BTA and an application  to the BHA you’re not going to get two monies, right?  You’re just going to, oh we have two applications here. One is going to be considered. The funds, a quarter million dollars have been made available by the Belize Fund where the BHA is responsible for administering half of that and the BTIA is responsible for administering the other half. Once the list of successful applicants has been compiled we will fund, we will use our half to fund some and the BTIA will use their half to fund the rest and vice versa, right? We will only have about a 10-day application window. I believe we’re gonna close it around the right before the 10th of September and then immediately we’ll be looking at applications as they come in. But the way that the formula is set up, we have to look at it at the end of the day, we have to look at it in total, right?  And so it we are committed to maybe taking, at the end of the application window, maybe taking three to four days to vet out everything and get it completed and then start dispersing funds.”

Dr. Leandra Cho-Ricketts, Executive Director, Belize Fund, said that the funds were made available expeditiously because addressing sargassum is a high-priority area for the fund.

Dr. Leandra Cho Ricketts, Executive Director, Belize Fund: “The funding here today of course by now way covers all the needs but it is an important contribution to the industry itself to help with the cleanup efforts. So these grants were developed in partnership and collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of the Blue Economy through the Sargassum task force. And under this task force a national Sargassum relief program has been developed and this program focuses on alleviating the sargassum relief efforts countrywide, supporting that. Those efforts focus on five municipalities; San Pedro, Caye Caulker, Placencia, Hopkins, Seine Bight. And so the support going to the two grantees will complement the support that government is providing to these five municipalities. So it is a partnership across the board and in terms of the response grants we today are signing agreements for a total of $25,009 with $125,000 each going to the BTIA and the BHA. And these will focus on cleanup over a three month period so it’s really for this intense impacts coming in right now. We wish we could provide more but this is what we can do for now. But through this support we expect or both grantees have identified that they will be working with over a hundred tourism businesses to assist them in their cleanup and their disposal.”

The BHA and BTIA say that they will be putting special focus on properties on offshore cayes and in the Placencia peninsula, that are not receiving support from village and town councils.