Beyond Our Boarders: Belize

As only Belize can offer to you. Belize, the little city with the greatest tropical treasures just waiting to be explored. Be it under the sea through the magnificent Great Blue Hole, or on land in Belize's Tropical forest.

Belize, is best know as 'British Honduras' with a population of approximately 310,520 people as of 2008 and a estimate of 307,899 people in 2009, July. It is between the Eastern Caribbean Sea, and bordered by both México in the North,and Guatemala in the west. For those that love to explore it has 1,000 cayes, the land is 8,866 mi long, including across. Divers will love this, Belize for the western hemisphere has the second largest barrier (unbroken) reef or Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System (MBRS) as it is called stretches the full length of the coastline.

The country is unique for so many vast things: It is host to 150 specie of mammals, 540 birds (This place is a bird watchers dream.), 600 species of freshwater and marine fishes vascular plant species of 3,408 and about 150 to 163 species of amphibians and reptiles. There is a lot for everyone.

Belize has become a very popular tourist destination because of its rich cultural heritage and large wealth of its biological diversity with there reefs and forest being so close to each other. Thus causing a highly economic benefit to its nation.

The explorer scuba diver will love this great mystery, the Great Blue Hole of Belize. A very large underwater sink hole, this Blue hole was made famous by Jacques-Yves Cousteau
Its circular shape is 984^ft across and 410^ft deep, formed during the last glacial period a system of a limestone cave. The Blue hole as it called because that is what it looks like to the naked eye, is believed to be the largest of its kind in the world. The sea levels began to rise after being low for a very long time, and thus flooded the cave and made the ceiling collapse. It is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)^[1] World Heritage and the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System. The climate in Belize is raining and dry. It monsoon is June to November the coldest month is January the season change from dry to rain so quickly. So you love the water, love to scuba dive and explore make Belize your next vacation place.

Belize with all its beauty has issues with its environment;

deforestation

water pollution

from sewage

industrial effluents

agricultural runoff

solid and sewage waste disposal

This beautiful country with is high tourism is under a great threat because of the elevated deforestation rates caused by the coastal developments growing so fast; it cannot keep up with such changes.  Not having the proper training in disposing of solid waste, there has risen among the legal as well as management institutional weakness; water pollution, agricultural runoffs, poverty has increased. 

But, in all this there is some good news the annual growth of Belize for 2005 was 3.1%, now with an increase to 3.7% (not that much).

The unemployment had went down to 11% from 11.6%.  Belize’s economist say they think the countries economy will grow by 2006; 2 to 3% even with the expected increase in inflation to 4.5%.  It was also confirmed that 50 million barrels of sweet crude oil was discovered by Belize Natural Energy (BNE); Oil extraction have become viable for technological development for the country.

Its the only country in Central America, without a coastline on the North Pacific Ocean, but with the development happening so quickly Belize will not be without for long. And its private-enterprise economy essentially, whose number top foreign exchange earner is tourism and then the exports of marine products, citrus, cane sugar, bananas, and garments