Ministry of Natural Resources

To Improve the quality of life for all Belizeans through the responsible management of our renewable and non-renewable natural resources and the regulation of the environment and industry, in order to foster the sustainable development of Belize.

The Ministry of Natural Resources (Central Administration) provides for the achievement of this mission through the coordinating policy of policy advice and execution among the various Departments that make up the Ministry and that are involved in the provision of policy support and services in the management of our natural resources and industrial development process.

The Central Administration is focused on improving the efficiency of service delivery at the Central and Departmental levels, improving collaboration and coordination activities, procedures and practices among internal and external stakeholders and ensuring that adequate levels of financial and technical resources are made available and/or accessed for the pursuit of natural resource management objectives and the Ministry and Departmental Missions. The specific focus/service areas of the Ministry are listed below.

The Ministry's Financial Resources are managed through the Finance Section of the Ministry's Central Administration. This Section manages the budget submission process, de-reservation requests and receipts to and from the Ministry of Finance, and administrates expenditure and revenue operations of the Ministry's various departments and Central Administration.

Human Resource Management

The Ministry's Human Resource and Records Management Unit provides personnel and administrative services to staff members throughout the country. The Unit is the vehicle for the administration of the Public Services Commission Regulation, 2001; the Public Service Regulations, 2001 and the General Workers Regulation, as well as the other related Act and Regulations, such as the Social Security Act. The Unit is also instrumental in communicating policy issues and administering policy decisions of an administrative nature, in monitoring the performance of staff in the various departments, and in ensuring that records and routine communication between the Ministry's various departments and between the Ministry and its external clients are adequately maintained.

Policy Coordination

The Ministry's Mission and mandate, its size and the complex and technical nature of its various portfolios require active efforts at coordinating policy on a constant basis. To this end, the Ministry has established a policy coordination unit with the express objective of facilitating the articulation of shared vision and objectives and the coordination of policies and activities across the various departments in order to achieve the common mission of the Ministry, as stated above.

Legal Affairs

The provision of services and pursuit of the sustainable management of our natural renewable and non-renewable resources and of industrial development are facilitated by various provisions within the Laws of Belize and its subsidiary regulations. As the government entity responsible for fostering sustainable development through natural resource management, the Ministry is both bound by and charged with the provisions of the various relevant principal acts. In order to facilitate this aspect of our responsibility, the Ministry has establshed a legal Affairs Office to provide advice across the Ministry on legal matters related to land use management and planning, petroleum exploration and mining, biodiversity management, environmental management and industrial development.