Belize Environment - 2024

Environment - current issues

deforestation; water pollution, including pollution of Belize's Barrier Reef System, from sewage, industrial effluents, agricultural runoff; inability to properly dispose of solid waste

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Climate

tropical; very hot and humid; rainy season (May to November); dry season (February to May)

Land use

agricultural land: 6.9% (2018 est.)

arable land: 3.3% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 1.4% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 2.2% (2018 est.)

forest: 60.6% (2018 est.)

other: 32.5% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 46.6% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 2.3% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Revenue from forest resources

0.31% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 10.51 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 0.57 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 0.55 megatons (2020 est.)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 101,379 tons (2015 est.)

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 10 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial: 20 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural: 70 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources

21.73 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)