Belize's fishing industry has significantly contributed to the country's economic growth through employment creation, food security, income generation, and foreign exchange earnings. The sector, encompassing fisheries and aquaculture, accounted for an average of 12% of total exports from 2015 to 2021. Currently, the fisheries sector directly employs more than 3,000 fisherfolks … [Read more...] about Charting a Sustainable Path: Revitalizing Belize’s Fisheries Through Science, Policy, and Empowerment
Mario González Flores
Economist Sr. Specialist at the Environment Rural Dev & Disaster Risk Management Division (RND) of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). His work focuses on three key areas: 1) proving support in the design of new IDB operations; 2) lead and collaborate in the design, execution, and supervision of impact evaluations and other research-oriented work; and 3) providing support in the elaboration of mid-term and final evaluations, and Project Completion Reports. Mario holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Queens College (NYC), and a Master’s degree in International Development and a Ph.D. in Economics, both from American University (Washington, DC). Mario has worked for more than 15 years in international development, primarily in Latin America and the Caribbean. His research has focused on several areas, including rural development and agriculture, technical efficiency, conditional and unconditional cash transfers, water and sanitation, and poverty scoring. Mario has worked for the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (Ecuador and Rome), Centro Internacional de la Papa (Ecuador), and the IDB. At the IDB, he has worked for the Office of Evaluation and Oversight, Social Protection and Health Division, Office of Strategic Planning and Development Effectiveness, and RND.