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United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Sustainable Development

Belize City House of Culture and Downtown Rejuvenation Project

    Description
    Description
    1. The project aims to promote awareness and appreciation of colonial heritage and cultural identity through the rejuvenation of a pilot selection of historical/colonial buildings and the programming of an eco-museum where citizens are encouraged to share memories, stories and all kinds of local cultures and arts.

    2. It is expected that the Project will ultimately result in an improvement of economic opportunities in the downtown area of Belize City via the development of cultural tourism.
    Expected Impact

    Belize City used to be the capital city of Belize and the hub of economic, political, and cultural development. However, due to severe hurricanes, the Government of Belize (GoB) decided to move the capital to Belmopan in 1970. Following the removal of the administration function, the downtown area of Belize City gradually suffered from economic stagnation and urban depression. To rejuvenate the downtown of Belize city, the GoB, in conjunction with National Taiwan University Building and Planning Research Foundation (Taiwan, Province of China), through collaboration with the TaiwanICDF (Taiwan, Province of China), has adopted the concept of eco-museum to implement the project.<br />
    <br />
    In contrast to a conventional museum which emphasizes collecting objects and displaying them in one building, an eco-musuem leaves objects in their current context. It could encompass a series of display nodes, architecture, and landscapes which formulate a network where the local community members could work with museum specialists to present their history. Therefore, an eco-museum could physically consist of a core and its satellites. In this case, the House of Culture will play the role of the core museum, while a selection of historical buildings will be the satellites.<br />
    <br />
    To achieve the vision of an eco-museum, the project consists of hard and soft components. The hard component includes physical works on (1) rejuvenation of the Belize City House of Culture and its grounds; (2) rejuvenation of selected historic/colonial buildings; and (3) development of public space/landscaping. The soft component covers the development of an eco-museum, and community participation and capacity building. In addition, the Government of Belize has passed and enacted the National Cultural Preservation Act in August 2017, as requested by the loan agreement, to allow for an enabling legal framework for heritage protection.

    Capacity

    To help the Government of Belize to revise the Loan Project proposal and thereby achieve its goal to enhancing the performance of the tourism sector in an environmentally and culturally sustainable and socially inclusive manner, National Taiwan University Building and Planning Research Foundation (Taiwan, Province of China) was commissioned in 2012 to carry out a Capacity Development Technical Assistance (CDTA) Project.<br />
    <br />
    The CDTA had two parts: Part A and Part B. Part A was dedicated to the technical revision of the Loan Project proposal, via workshops and technical consultations. Part B focused on activities to (1) promote the knowledge of concerted community participatory planning approach, and (2) enhance readiness of stakeholders for the ensuing Loan Project implementation.<br />
    <br />
    Later in 2016, nearly 3 years after the Project had been commenced, National Taiwan University Building and Planning Research Foundation (Taiwan, Province of China) was commissioned again to provide distance consulting services on related works of the Project.

    Governed

    1. The Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoTCA) has been appointed as the Executing Agency (EA) for the Project. <br />
    <br />
    2. The Project Executing Unit (PEU) has been established within the MoTCA's Planning and Project Development Unit (PPDU). The PEU reports to the EA and the Project Steering Committee (PSC) on a regular basis and follow the EA's instructions and the PSC's advice.<br />
    <br />
    3. The PSC, being a coordinating mechanism among the different stakeholders, has been established to supervise and approve the performance of the Project, identify the challenges affecting or which could affect implementation, and provide prompt resources or advice to facilitate the Project implementation.

    Partners
    Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation- Belize,
    Ministry of Finance- Belize,
    International Cooperation and Development Fund, TaiwanICDF (Taiwan, Province of China),
    National Taiwan University Building and Planning Research Foundation (Taiwan, Province of China),
    National Institute of Culture and History- Belize
    Belize City Council
    Belize Infrastructure Limited,
    Ministry of Education, Youth, Sports and Culture- Belize
    Ministry of Human Development- Belize

    Goal 8

    Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

    Goal 8

    8.1

    Sustain per capita economic growth in accordance with national circumstances and, in particular, at least 7 per cent gross domestic product growth per annum in the least developed countries
    8.1.1

    Annual growth rate of real GDP per capita

    8.2

    Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation, including through a focus on high-value added and labour-intensive sectors

    8.2.1

    Annual growth rate of real GDP per employed person

    8.3

    Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services

    8.3.1

    Proportion of informal employment in total employment, by sector and sex

    8.4

    Improve progressively, through 2030, global resource efficiency in consumption and production and endeavour to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation, in accordance with the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production, with developed countries taking the lead

    8.4.1

    Material footprint, material footprint per capita, and material footprint per GDP

    8.4.2

    Domestic material consumption, domestic material consumption per capita, and domestic material consumption per GDP

    8.5

    By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value
    8.5.1

    Average hourly earnings of female and male employees, by occupation, age and persons with disabilities

    8.5.2

    Unemployment rate, by sex, age and persons with disabilities

    8.6

    By 2020, substantially reduce the proportion of youth not in employment, education or training
    8.6.1

    Proportion of youth (aged 15-24 years) not in education, employment or training

    8.7

    Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in all its forms

    8.7.1

    Proportion and number of children aged 5‑17 years engaged in child labour, by sex and age

    8.8

    Protect labour rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers, including migrant workers, in particular women migrants, and those in precarious employment

    8.8.1

    Fatal and non-fatal occupational injuries per 100,000 workers, by sex and migrant status

    8.8.2

    Level of national compliance with labour rights (freedom of association and collective bargaining) based on International Labour Organization (ILO) textual sources and national legislation, by sex and migrant status

    8.9

    By 2030, devise and implement policies to promote sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products

    8.9.1

    Tourism direct GDP as a proportion of total GDP and in growth rate

    8.10

    Strengthen the capacity of domestic financial institutions to encourage and expand access to banking, insurance and financial services for all

    8.10.1

    (a) Number of commercial bank branches per 100,000 adults and (b) number of automated teller machines (ATMs) per 100,000 adults

    8.10.2

    Proportion of adults (15 years and older) with an account at a bank or other financial institution or with a mobile-money-service provider

    8.a

    Increase Aid for Trade support for developing countries, in particular least developed countries, including through the Enhanced Integrated Framework for Trade-Related Technical Assistance to Least Developed Countries
    8.a.1

    Aid for Trade commitments and disbursements

    8.b

    By 2020, develop and operationalize a global strategy for youth employment and implement the Global Jobs Pact of the International Labour Organization

    8.b.1

    Existence of a developed and operationalized national strategy for youth employment, as a distinct strategy or as part of a national employment strategy

    Goal 11

    Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

    Goal 11

    11.1

    By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums

    11.1.1

    Proportion of urban population living in slums, informal settlements or inadequate housing

    11.2

    By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons
    11.2.1

    Proportion of population that has convenient access to public transport, by sex, age and persons with disabilities

    11.3

    By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries
    11.3.1

    Ratio of land consumption rate to population growth rate

    11.3.2

    Proportion of cities with a direct participation structure of civil society in urban planning and management that operate regularly and democratically

    11.4

    Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage

    11.4.1

    Total per capita expenditure on the preservation, protection and conservation of all cultural and natural heritage, by source of funding (public, private), type of heritage (cultural, natural) and level of government (national, regional, and local/municipal)

    11.5

    By 2030, significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected and substantially decrease the direct economic losses relative to global gross domestic product caused by disasters, including water-related disasters, with a focus on protecting the poor and people in vulnerable situations

    11.5.1

    Number of deaths, missing persons and directly affected persons attributed to disasters per 100,000 population

    11.5.2

    Direct economic loss attributed to disasters in relation to global domestic product (GDP)

    11.5.3

    (a) Damage to critical infrastructure and (b) number of disruptions to basic services, attributed to disasters

    11.6

    By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management

    11.6.1

    Proportion of municipal solid waste collected and managed in controlled facilities out of total municipal waste generated, by cities

    11.6.2

    Annual mean levels of fine particulate matter (e.g. PM2.5 and PM10) in cities (population weighted)

    11.7

    By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities
    11.7.1

    Average share of the built-up area of cities that is open space for public use for all, by sex, age and persons with disabilities

    11.7.2

    Proportion of persons victim of non-sexual or sexual harassment, by sex, age, disability status and place of occurrence, in the previous 12 months

    11.a

    Support positive economic, social and environmental links between urban, peri-urban and rural areas by strengthening national and regional development planning

    11.a.1

    Number of countries that have national urban policies or regional development plans that (a) respond to population dynamics; (b) ensure balanced territorial development; and (c) increase local fiscal space

    11.b

    By 2020, substantially increase the number of cities and human settlements adopting and implementing integrated policies and plans towards inclusion, resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation to climate change, resilience to disasters, and develop and implement, in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, holistic disaster risk management at all levels

    11.b.1

    Number of countries that adopt and implement national disaster risk reduction strategies in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030

    11.b.2

    Proportion of local governments that adopt and implement local disaster risk reduction strategies in line with national disaster risk reduction strategies

    11.c

    Support least developed countries, including through financial and technical assistance, in building sustainable and resilient buildings utilizing local materials

    Goal 17

    Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development

    Goal 17

    17.1

    Strengthen domestic resource mobilization, including through international support to developing countries, to improve domestic capacity for tax and other revenue collection

    17.1.1
    Total government revenue as a proportion of GDP, by source
    17.1.2
    Proportion of domestic budget funded by domestic taxes

    17.2

    Developed countries to implement fully their official development assistance commitments, including the commitment by many developed countries to achieve the target of 0.7 per cent of ODA/GNI to developing countries and 0.15 to 0.20 per cent of ODA/GNI to least developed countries; ODA providers are encouraged to consider setting a target to provide at least 0.20 per cent of ODA/GNI to least developed countries

    17.2.1
    Net official development assistance, total and to least developed countries, as a proportion of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee donors’ gross national income (GNI)

    17.3

    Mobilize additional financial resources for developing countries from multiple sources

    17.3.1

    Additional financial resources mobilized for developing countries from multiple sources 

    17.3.2
    Volume of remittances (in United States dollars) as a proportion of total GDP

    17.4

    Assist developing countries in attaining long-term debt sustainability through coordinated policies aimed at fostering debt financing, debt relief and debt restructuring, as appropriate, and address the external debt of highly indebted poor countries to reduce debt distress

    17.4.1
    Debt service as a proportion of exports of goods and services

    17.5

    Adopt and implement investment promotion regimes for least developed countries

    17.5.1

    Number of countries that adopt and implement investment promotion regimes for developing countries, including the least developed countries

    17.6

    Enhance North-South, South-South and triangular regional and international cooperation on and access to science, technology and innovation and enhance knowledge sharing on mutually agreed terms, including through improved coordination among existing mechanisms, in particular at the United Nations level, and through a global technology facilitation mechanism

    17.6.1

     Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, by speed

    17.7

    Promote the development, transfer, dissemination and diffusion of environmentally sound technologies to developing countries on favourable terms, including on concessional and preferential terms, as mutually agreed

    17.7.1

    Total amount of funding for developing countries to promote the development, transfer, dissemination and diffusion of environmentally sound technologies

    17.8

    Fully operationalize the technology bank and science, technology and innovation capacity-building mechanism for least developed countries by 2017 and enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology

    17.8.1
    Proportion of individuals using the Internet

    17.9

    Enhance international support for implementing effective and targeted capacity-building in developing countries to support national plans to implement all the Sustainable Development Goals, including through North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation

    17.9.1

    Dollar value of financial and technical assistance (including through North-South, South‑South and triangular cooperation) committed to developing countries

    17.10

    Promote a universal, rules-based, open, non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system under the World Trade Organization, including through the conclusion of negotiations under its Doha Development Agenda

    17.10.1
    Worldwide weighted tariff-average

    17.11

    Significantly increase the exports of developing countries, in particular with a view to doubling the least developed countries’ share of global exports by 2020

    17.11.1

    Developing countries’ and least developed countries’ share of global exports

    17.12

    Realize timely implementation of duty-free and quota-free market access on a lasting basis for all least developed countries, consistent with World Trade Organization decisions, including by ensuring that preferential rules of origin applicable to imports from least developed countries are transparent and simple, and contribute to facilitating market access

    17.12.1

    Weighted average tariffs faced by developing countries, least developed countries and small island developing States

    17.13

    Enhance global macroeconomic stability, including through policy coordination and policy coherence

    17.13.1
    Macroeconomic Dashboard

    17.14

    Enhance policy coherence for sustainable development

    17.14.1
    Number of countries with mechanisms in place to enhance policy coherence of sustainable development

    17.15

    Respect each country’s policy space and leadership to establish and implement policies for poverty eradication and sustainable development 

    17.15.1
    Extent of use of country-owned results frameworks and planning tools by providers of development cooperation

    17.16

    Enhance the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources, to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in all countries, in particular developing countries

    17.16.1

    Number of countries reporting progress in multi-stakeholder development effectiveness monitoring frameworks that support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals

    17.17

    Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships 

    17.17.1

    Amount in United States dollars committed to public-private partnerships for infrastructure

    17.18

    By 2020, enhance capacity-building support to developing countries, including for least developed countries and small island developing States, to increase significantly the availability of high-quality, timely and reliable data disaggregated by income, gender, age, race, ethnicity, migratory status, disability, geographic location and other characteristics relevant in national contexts

    17.18.1

    Statistical capacity indicators

    17.18.2
    Number of countries that have national statistical legislation that complies with the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics
    17.18.3

    Number of countries with a national statistical plan that is fully funded and under implementation, by source of funding

    17.19

    By 2030, build on existing initiatives to develop measurements of progress on sustainable development that complement gross domestic product, and support statistical capacity-building in developing countries

    17.19.1
    Dollar value of all resources made available to strengthen statistical capacity in developing countries
    17.19.2

    Proportion of countries that (a) have conducted at least one population and housing census in the last 10 years; and (b) have achieved 100 per cent birth registration and 80 per cent death registration

    Name Description
    Preservation Works for St. John's Cathedral and Supreme Court
    Rehabilitation of Yarborough Green
    Reconstruction of Cockburn Lane House
    Restoration of Belize City House of Culture and its Grounds
    Financing (in USD)
    5300000
    Financing (in USD)
    2269565
    Staff / Technical expertise
    Distance Consulting Services
    Staff / Technical expertise
    Capacity Development Technical Assistance
    No progress reports have been submitted. Please sign in and click here to submit one.
    False
    This initiative does not yet fulfil the SMART criteria.
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    Timeline
    01 February 2014 (start date)
    01 February 2020 (date of completion)
    Entity
    International Cooperation and Development Fund
    SDGs
    Geographical coverage
    Belize City, Belize
    Countries
    N/A
    Contact Information

    Yung-Hsin Lin, Assistant Specialist