Peninsula Citizens for Sustainable Development, Placencia Peninsula Belize

satellite view of the Placencia Peninsula, Belize

The Placencia Peninsula is located in southern Belize, south of Dangriga Town and north of Monkey River.

It's about 13 miles long and no more than a 1/2 mile wide at its widest point.

The Placencia Lagoon forms its western border, with the Caribbean Sea to the east and south.

The Peninsula currently faces many challenges, most related to overfishing, rapid (and unplanned) tourism development, climate change, agricultural run-off and shrimp farming.

The traditional Creole and Garifuna cultures of Placencia and Seine Bight Villages also face challenges from an increasing Latin American immigrant population drawn to the area by its construction jobs, an increasing North American and European "residential tourist" population who come for the sun, sea and sand, lack of local opportunities for its youth, and an economy that relies almost totally on tourism.

The purpose of this Website is to provide public information about the many problems that have come with the Peninsula's rapid growth, the response (or lack of response) by local and national governments, and ways in which local residents, tourists and visitors can become involved in the solutions to these problems.