Belize - Aqualex ProfilesFramework Law
The main law applicable to water resources management, which covers all of the following areas: administration; management, conservation and use of freshwater resources; water rights; waterworks; water supply
Constitutional provisions
Date of text: 21 September 1981
Right to water: No provisions regarding the right to water.
Natural resources: Part XIII concerns government control over public utilities. Public utilities includes water services. The Government shall have and maintain at all times majority ownership and control of a public utility provider.
Agriculture
Water used for irrigation, forestry and aquaculture
Water Supply and Sanitation
Provision of water services by public utilities or commercial organizations; water supply for domestic, industrial or other purposes; right to safe and clean drinking water and basic sanitation; quality of piped water; sewerage
Date of original text: 24 March 2001 (2003)
Governance
The political, social, economic and administrative systems that govern water management and conservation; good practices; good governance; decentralization; water user’s associations
Date of original text: 24 March 2001 (2003)
Infrastructure
Waterworks; water supply systems; dams; hydropower systems; irrigation systems
Water Resources Management and Water Rights
Ownership and control of water resources; abstraction and diversion of water; allocation and quotas; riparian rights; priority of rights; free water use
Water and Environment
Water in environmentally-sensitive areas; ‘water demand’ by ecosystems; protection forests; water conservation zones; environmental impact assessment
Water Quality and Pollution Control
Control of pollution and quality of freshwater bodies and groundwater; agricultural point and non-point sources of pollution; water quality standards
Date of text: 27 July 2009
Groundwater
Freshwater resources located below the surface of the earth; aquifers; groundwater abstraction; well-sinking; boreholes; hydrogeology
Disaster Resilience
Water-related hazards; flood; drought; water shortage; adaptation to climate change; early warning system/emergency intervention system
Transboundary Waters
Transboundary effects; international basin institutions; international agreements; transboundary coordination; transboundary aquifers
Policies
Date of text: 01 October 2015
Date of text: 29 February 2020