News

Belize to Advance Sustainable Forestry and Land Use with the Support of ECPA

Monday, April 28, 2014

On March 21-23, ECPA Fellow and Sustainable Forests and Land Use expert, Janaki R. R. Alavalapati, visited Belize to attend the Forest Management & Monitoring Stakeholder Forum. Dr. Alavalapati also met with government officials and representatives from the private sector and from the University of Belize. Fellow Alavalapati took advantage of his visit to strengthen an ongoing forest management capacity building effort started in November 2012 when he first visited Belize. Dr. Janaki also met with Lisel Alamilla, Belize’s Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and Sustainable Development, to discuss the ongoing initiative and ways to increase its scope. This synergy has prompted Alex Finkral (Forest Land Group), Elma Kay (University of Belize), and Jack Putz (University of Florida) to join Dr. Janaki to hold a research workshop at the Yalbac in early January 2015.

The ECPA Fellows initiative is building a hemispheric network of technical experts working on energy and climate change by bringing together diverse actors from governments, civil society and the private sector to better engage and cooperate with each other and to identify energy and climate change issues in the region and work towards sustainable solutions. The main objectives of these visits are to facilitate technical assistance, innovative solutions and technologies related to clean energy, sustainable urban development, climate change adaptation, and deforestation. The first project phase comprised 46 visits to 20 countries that fostered the transfer of knowledge among the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Partner of the Americas (PoA) implements this ECPA initiative, which recently started a second phase. PoA is an international network that promotes social and economic development in the Americas through leadership, voluntary service, and development programs. Its mission is to connect individuals, volunteers, institutions, businesses, and communities to change the lives of people through lasting partnerships.