Is Belize a developing country?
Development measures
Development is a process of change that affects people's lives in different countries. It refers mostly to the standards if living and also quality of life. The development measures shows that the life expectancy of the United Kingdom and that of Belize differs by 10 years, this may be due to the fact that whilst in the United kingdom on average there is 0% of the civilization drinking clean water, 9% of Belize do not have access to adequate sanitation or safe water. From the development measures, we also find out that nearly a quarter of the Belize adult (aged 15 and above) community are illiterates which compared to the UK mere zero shows us that it isn’t as good a place to live as here. The per capital (PPP US$) Seems to me to be the biggest different there is between the two countries, UK comes in at $35,130 but Belize follows with a measly $6,734. This shows us how poor Belize is to the UK but all this measurement seem to only measure the standards of living: The level of well-being (of the population of a country) as measured by the level of income (for example, GNP per capita) or by the quantity of various goods and services consumed. It doesn’t on the other hand measure the quality of life: to evaluate the general well-being of individuals and societies and look at the harder thing to measure e.g. stress.
But why is Development so important?
Development is so important to Belize because with it comes a great number of advantages. There are four stages of development in Belize (or indeed of an LEDC).
The arc of development of Belize is as follows:
NO human settlement (No industry (Belize 12,000 years ago)
- During this period, Belize had a completely natural ecosystem
- Wide variety of animals and plant
- No pollution, no building no industries
Human Settlement-villages, small
Scale agricultural- (Belize 200years ago)
During this period, there were:
Primary collected raw materials
- Housing – built from local materials
Human settlement (Belize 50-60 years old (Secondary)
People are beginning to industrialise
This development also has their downside as they also bring more pollution, a lot of traffic, massive population growth and slums with no sewage which could lead to more diseases, crime, gangs and drugs. Belize had improved in their standards of living but not their quality of life.
Human settlement large towns, cities, (Last 30years)
With air travel holiday cheap, international holidays have exploded. This means that beautiful places like Belize are now holiday resort. People stay at towns by the coral reefs. The Belize community have to build hotels, restaurant, beaches more boats, scuba diving and entertainment.
These have created thousands of Jobs which are of course low levels, low paid and services.
Now we know a bit more about Belize, let’s talk about its coral reefs
Most of the coral reefs are centered on the equator; they are between the tropic of cancer and the tropic of Capricorn and are found in the Indian, pacific and Atlantic Ocean. Coral reefs grow best in warm water (70–85° F or 21–29° C). It is possible for soft corals to grow in places with warmer or colder water, but growth rates in these types of conditions are very slow. Corals prefer clear and shallow water, where lots of sunlight filters through to their symbiotic algae. It is possible to find corals at depths of up to 300 feet (91 meters), but reef-building corals grow poorly below 60–90 feet (18–27 meters). Corals need salt water to survive, so they also grow poorly near river openings or coastal areas with excessive run-off.
The different beauty/features of the coral reefs can lead drastically to its destruction.
Features such as:
The diversity of fishes, the warm water, the coral, the beach and the nice climate
Leads to
And they bring
The coral reef is particularly vulnerable, as it can be damaged in a lot of different ways:
Development of course does inhabit its downside and even more so for Belize and its reef as a step towards the destruction of the reef.
I also interview a worker in a hotel and a local person. The both completely agree with Mr.Heredia and believe that developing the country is the best option for both them and their families.
A complex issue, how do we solve a problem like Belize?
The question is simple, how do we save the coral reef and keep the stakeholders happy?
The view of this reporter is that it is a complex issue and after visiting the country, I do have empathy for all involved. I wasn’t in a position to make any drastic changes but I knew someone who could. All I needed to do was sending a simple letter to the Prime Minister of Belize and write to him my suggestions.
Below a copy of my letter:
Dear Prime minister -Dean Barrow.
My name is Jenny Nwalioba a reporter and editor of New and upcoming magazine: ‘Beautiful Belize’. I am writing to you regarding the difficult issue situated around the development of Belize and Belize’s coral reef. There is no doubt that some of the existing economic activities do cause environmental damages to the reef. However, it would be unwise for the development of Belize to be put on hold.