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There are too few teachers and schools to meet the need for quality universal basic education. Therefore, alternative approaches to education provision need to be explored, such as open and distance learning methods and development and provision of curriculum-based Open Educational Resources (OER). However, distribution of printed materials is increasingly costly, and distribution of digital resources remains a challenge in areas with little or no connectivity. This case study explores the potential of using offline strategies to share digital OER. It suggests it is possible to provide access to digital learning resources even in the most remote areas by using appropriate technology, like the Commonwealth of Learning's Aptus device.

Educators in Belize are charged with ensuring that all Belizeans are given an opportunity to acquire a quality education that promotes personal development and productive citizenship. Consequently, Belizean law now requires all children from ages five through fourteen to attend at least eight years of primary school. Students with special needs have historically not received accommodations in the education system, so many teachers struggle with meeting the needs of students with learning disabilities in these inclusive settings. This qualitative case study explored teaching strategies and contextual factors in inclusive primary classrooms in Belize and was conducted in the form of Community Engaged Research in partnership with the Ministry of Education, Youth, Sports, and Culture (MOE). Findings suggest consistent approaches for differentiating instruction, teacher passion for teaching and commitment to meeting student needs, a need for additional resources and training, and a disconnect between families and schools. Interpretation of these findings through Hornby's (2015) theory of inclusive education suggests that Belize is primarily following inclusivity as students with disabilities are integrated into the mainstream educational system. However, while some principles and practices of inclusion are followed, other features are absent. Adding a special education component could enhance student learning as individualization and standardization of instruction, expectations, and assessment could occur between teachers, across grade levels, and in communication with families. A special education component with associated teacher training could support teacher desire for additional resources and meet the needs of an increasingly diverse population of students.

Critical friendship is an innovative method used to strengthen an individual's professional skills, including critical reflection, thinking, and problem-solving abilities in educational settings. Critical friendships can occur through one-on-one relationships or in groups known as critical friendship groups (CFGs). Literature on CFGs examines the benefits of structured CFGs integrated into teacher preparation programs. CFGs that form beyond university walls, like a study abroad context, have not been discussed in the literature even though these experiences can be the catalyst for CFGs. This case study illustrates how a CFG was formed during a study abroad trip to Belize with undergraduate and graduate education students that resulted in five major findings. Implications for both teacher education and study abroad programs are discussed.

This article examines how the crisis of COVID-19 became a crucible, or a means of transformation, for global educators. How teachers leverage their lived experience of teaching through the implications of COVID-19 to transform identity and practice is a new phenomenon, a merits examination. Through a collection of interviews, the ways in which the life experiences of teaching through COVID-19 worked to create new identities in teachers and new practices within the classroom is examined. Data was gathered through informal interviews from eleven educators teaching through the crisis of COVID-19 across the world, including four continents and six countries. Drawing on simple thematic analysis, a narrative approach was utilized to examine the process of transformation in teachers across the globe. The findings and analysis of this research will help those working with teachers better understand how teachers leverage a crisis be it COVID-19, or another disruptive force, as a crucible for transformation.

Computer science became a distinct academic discipline in the early 1950s. The first computer science degree program was founded in Belize around 45 years later, under the auspices of the nascent University College of Belize, which would subsequently become the University of Belize. We present a twenty-year synopsis of a degree program created in 1998 to build an undergraduate curriculum using the surge of computing in the country of Belize as a catalyst coupled with the recognition of the importance of computing for national development. The four-year undergraduate degree program has resulted in steady student enrolment over the past two decades featuring a female student population consistent with female enrolment in similar computer science programs globally. The study details the origins, development efforts, successes, challenges, and recommendations for the program's future development.

The COVID-19 Pandemic and resulting school closures, present a serious threat to young children's care, learning, and the achievement of their developmental potential (UNESCO, 2020a). Disruptions to normal school functioning worldwide have presented challenges for teachers who were generally unprepared to teach using different methodologies (United Nations in Policy brief: Education during COVID-19 and beyond, 2020). Since a child's right to care and education extends even during emergencies this study was conceptualized to better understand the professional experiences of early childhood teachers as they navigated the teaching learning process during the COVID-19 school disruption. A multiple site qualitative case study was designed to answer two research questions: What were the professional experiences of Caribbean Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) teachers at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic period? And how did Caribbean ECCE teachers adapt to ensure continuity of children's rights to access education? Almog and Perry-Hazan's (2012) conceptualisation of the Right to Adaptable Education provided the theoretical foundation for this study. Data were collected using a questionnaire sent to teachers from seven Caribbean countries. Five themes were extricated from the findings: changed teacher experiences, significant new understandings, changed teacher collaboration practices, changed individual qualities, and warning signs for support. We conclude by making recommendations for macro level support for the ECCE sector during educational disruptions.

The importance of diversity and diversity education is becoming increasingly clear among businesses and in society. Colleges and universities are recognizing the necessity of expanding student outcomes to include intercultural competence to meet this requirement. Because of this increased importance, this study sought to examine the impact of a study abroad marketing course on students' intercultural competency. Students enrolled in an upper-level marketing course completed a nine-day study abroad trip in Belize, where they were able to interact with diverse cultures. They also completed the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) as part of the class assessment at the beginning and end of the semester. To improve their IDI score, they received instruction, individual coaching, and completed individual assignments to increase their intercultural competency. Results show a significant positive increase in terms of developmental orientation toward other cultures at the end of the semester as compared to the beginning. These results provide insight and suggest best practices on how to increase intercultural competency in students in marketing education.

Climate change is causing rapid environmental deterioration in the Caribbean. Therefore, empowering citizens to become environmentally literate is crucial. This study examined environmental awareness (EA) and practice (EP) among a sample (n=207) of Belizean undergraduate students. An Environmental Knowledge Indicator (High = 18-20; Moderate = 14-17; Low = 10-13; Poor = 7-9; Very Poor= < 6) and an Environmentally Responsible Behaviour scale (High = 72-80; Moderate = 56-71; Low = 40-55; Poor = 26-39; Very Poor= < 25) were used to collect data. Results revealed low levels of environmental awareness (M=13.5), and poor environmentally responsible practice (M=33.4). There was no statistically significant relationship between EA and EP. Males had statistically higher EA scores (M =14.06) than females (M= 12.49), t (205) = 3.53, p =0.001. They also had statistically higher EP scores (M=35.11) than females (M = 32.15), t (203) = 2.07, p<0.05). Natural Science students had statistically higher EA scores (M = 13.93) than Social Science students (M= 12.41), t (205) = -3.51, p=0.001. They also had statistically higher EP scores (M = 34.97) than Social Science students (M= 31.82), t (203) = -2.23, p<0.05. These results may suggest inadequate exposure to Education for Sustainable Development models.

The objective of the research is to investigate if certain demographics of students help explain four areas of potential improvements in predominantly short-term study abroad programs. These areas are motivation, experience enhancement, benefits from various learning activities, and students' concerns regarding their experience. Pre-trip and post-trip surveys were conducted using logistic regression model. Our results showed that participants of a longer-term program were more likely than those in the short-term program to be expanded in their cultural understanding and global outlook. In contrast to many studies, males were found to be more motivated than females by a desire to experience foreign culture. Students with a higher GPA were found to have a more enhanced academic experience than those with a lower GPA. Finally, participants from a monocultural background were found to have a more culturally enhanced experience than the multicultural ones. The results will help improve the quality of study abroad programs.

There is a call for today's teachers to be globally literate as their student populations become more diverse. Immersive experiences in other countries with international colleagues and students can support the development of global literacy and culturally responsive practice. Preservice special education teachers do not often have opportunities to gain these experiences. The authors use examples of existing international collaborations in special education to illustrate a variety of ways that preservice and in-service teachers can experience international collaboration.

Through the voices of both faculty and student authors, we discuss the intentional integration of neurodiversity in an undergraduate, community geography research program. This exploratory case study takes conversations about diversity, equity, and inclusion from theory to practice presenting the development of an inclusive learning community through the lens of education and geoscience education frameworks. Through multiple perspectives advocating for systemic change for inclusive community geography, this paper presents actionable recommendations others in geography can draw from in their own efforts to broaden participation within geography field programs.

Heritage is defined and maintained through complex and changing processes. In what ways might heritage scholars and practitioners understand dynamic complexities theoretically, methodologically and ethically? Through reflections on involvement in environmental and cultural heritage initiatives with Maya communities in southern Belize, this paper argues for an explicit forefronting of community aims and goals in heritage-focused project design and implementation. It demonstrates how cultural anthropologists involved in collaborative projects with archaeologists, non-governmental and/or community organisations may use ethnographic approaches to push collectively towards decolonial, community archaeologies. The challenges of ethnographers and archaeologists working together to document heritage past and present are critically and reflexively analysed, using frameworks rooted in environmental anthropology to capture the fluid and negotiated nature of heritage constructions by exploring what it means to live a 'good life' in Maya communities in Belize. The insights generated for developing a decolonising approach for future work of this type are also considered. By challenging what constitutes project 'success', and discussing the questions simultaneously posed and revealed by the long-term community projects detailed here, the paper argues for a more collaborative, nuanced and fluid conceptualisation of what constitutes heritage, and who is served by its documentation and dissemination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To estimate the national and regional population attributable fraction (PAF) and potential number of preventable anemia cases for three nutritional risk factors (iron, red blood cell folate [RBCF], and vitamin B12 deficiencies) among women of childbearing age in Belize. Methods. A national probability-based household and micronutrient survey capturing sociodemographic and health information was conducted among 937 nonpregnant Belizean women aged 15–49 years. Blood samples were collected to determine hemoglobin, ferritin, alpha-1-glycoprotein (AGP), RBCF, and vitamin B12 status. All analyses used sample weights and design variables to reflect a complex sample survey. Logistic regression was used to determine adjusted prevalence risk (aPR) ratios, which were then used to estimate national and regional PAF for anemia. Results. The overall prevalence of anemia (hemoglobin

In 1972, I took a road trip from California to Belize and Guatemala, where I found myself mesmerized by the hot rains, flamboyant hammocks, brilliant colors of the forest, and [...]

Introduction: It is estimated that up to 28% of global disease burden is surgical with hernias representing a unique challenge as the only definitive treatment is surgery. Surgical Outreach for the Americas (SOfA) is a nongovernmental organization focused primarily on alleviating the disease burden of inguinal and umbilical hernias in Central America. We present the experience of SOfA, a model focused on partnership and education. Methods: SOfA was established in 2009 to help individuals recover from ailments that are obstacles to working and independent living. Over the past 15 years, SOfA has partnered with local healthcare providers in the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, and Belize. The SOfA team consists of surgeons, surgery residents, triage physicians, an anesthesiologist, anesthetists, operating room nurses, recovery nurses, a pediatric critical care physician, sterile processing technicians, interpreters, and a team coordinator. Critical partnerships required include the CMO, internal medicine, general surgery, nursing, rural health coordinators and surgical training programs at public hospitals. Results: SOfA has completed 24 trips, performing 2074 procedures on 1792 patients. 71.4% of procedures were hernia repairs. To enhance sustainability of healthcare delivery, SOfA has partnered with the local facilities through capital improvements to include OR tables, OR lights, anesthesia machines, monitors, hospital beds, stretchers, sterilizers, air conditioning units, and electrosurgical generators. A lecture series and curriculum on perioperative care, anesthesia, anatomy, and operative technique is delivered. Local surgery residents and medical students participated in patient care, learning alongside SOfA teammates. Recently, SOfA has partnered with SAGES Global Affairs Committee to implement a virtual Global Laparoscopic Advancement Program, a simulation-based laparoscopic training curriculum for surgeons in El Salvador. Conclusion: A sustainable partnership to facilitate surgical care in low resource settings requires longitudinal, collaborative relationships, and investments in capital improvements, education, and partnership with local healthcare providers, institutions, and training programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Machine learning can offer an efficient method to identify and map caves, sinkholes, and other cave-like features (i.e. sinkholes, rockshelters, voids) using remotely sensed imagery. While there exists a body of work applying machine learning for sinkhole identification, little work exists for caves. In the densely forested and rugged Maya Lowlands, developing such a methodology can help archaeologists to identify previously unknown caves that may contain important archaeological materials. Here, we introduce a proof-of-concept project that uses random forest and lidar-derived landscape morphometrics to map caves and other cave-like features in northwest Belize. Several undocumented caves and cave-like features were identified in our study area based on model results. Next steps towards making a more robust version of this model include the addition of more training data and integration of a larger number of morphologic parameters. Based on the results described here as well as those in cited works focused on caves, we proposed machine learning as a first step in cave and cave-like feature identification, followed then by fieldwork and ground-truthing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies focusing on Belize reveal that clientelism is the glue that makes the party system stick. We explore whether ideology and ethnicity account for partisanship within that deeply clientelist setting. We use four AmericasBarometer survey waves by the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) to study the individual-level correlates of partisan attachments with the People’s United Party (PUP) and United Democratic Party (UDP). Using binary and multinomial probit maximum likelihood estimators, we find that ethnicity correlates to partisanship with the PUP, and ideology correlates to partisanship with the UDP. The robustness checks, which focus on declared vote choices in previous national elections, corroborate our findings. The Belizean case shows how clientelist parties can develop alternative support sources and that these can vary substantially. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article uncovers the life of Lionel Francis, one of the people who ousted Marcus Garvey from the leadership of the United Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) and who would eventually lead the UNIA. Although described by Garvey's biographers as a medical doctor from Trinidad, this article reveals that Francis was never a doctor but began his working life as a miner and a preacher in the South Wales coalfields, enduring racism and personal struggles before emigrating to the United States following the 1919 racist riots in Wales. There he became a major leader of the interwar Pan-African movement in the United States and was centrally involved in the ousting of Garvey and the fragmentation of the UNIA. During the second world war, Francis moved to Belize and became a populist yet anti-independence politician. His life straddled Trinidad, Wales, the United States, and Belize, reflecting the shifting politics and migratory patterns of the African diaspora, making him an exemplar of the lived reality of the Black Atlantic in the first half of the twentieth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence of ancient Maya exploitation of salt, other marine resources, settlement, and sea trade is hidden in flooded mangrove landscapes on the cays, mainland, and in shallow offshore locations on the south coast of Belize. This article includes a discussion of the coastal economy from the Middle Preclassic through the Postclassic periods (600 B.C.–A.D. 1500). Data from sites discovered and excavated since 1982 in the coastal area of the Port Honduras and Paynes Creek National Park support a model of coastal reliance on marine resources and tree crops. The need for a regular supply of coastal salt to inland cities may have expanded the market for other marine resources. Obsidian imported from volcanic highlands documents long-distance trade throughout prehistory in the area. The island of Wild Cane Cay expanded its role in long-distance coastal trade after the abandonment of inland cities in southern Belize at the end of the Classic period. Inundation of the region documented from the depths of radiocarbon-dated archaeological deposits below the water table and from a sediment core indicates sea-level rise of at least 1 m that submerged the coastal sites. The waterlogged deposits provided an ideal matrix for preservation of vertebrate material at Wild Cane Cay. The red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) peat below the sea floor in a shallow lagoon preserved wooden buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We utilized 10 microsatellite loci to examine the genetic diversity, genetic structure, and demographic history of Zamia decumbens Calonje, Meerman, M.P. Griff. & Hoese, an endangered cycad species occurring in small populations on karst topography within the Maya Mountains of Belize. Four populations in two distinct habitats were sampled: three inside dolines (one at a cave entrance and two at the bottom of sinkholes) and one on a rocky hilltop. Genetic variation in the species reflects the demographic history of the sampled populations which appears closely linked to the karstification of the limestone bedrock on which it occurs rather than being structured geographically or by habitat type. Contemporary gene flow between populations is low, with the cave population facilitating most of the genetic connectivity in the region as a source of migrants to other populations. Coalescent‐based modeling revealed that the two sinkhole populations were established first, and the hilltop and cave populations were more recently founded from a common ancestral population. All populations were in Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium and moderately heterozygous, yet signatures for recent bottleneck events were recovered for the doline populations. Furthermore, a high inbreeding coefficient and high average pairwise relatedness were found for the hilltop population, the latter possibly the result of recent illegal harvesting activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The estimation and analysis of the distribution of the negative health impacts of certain commodities subject to excise taxes in Belize and the distribution of the burdens of the excise taxes across households of different income levels are the focus of this article. Particular attention is given to the taxation of soft drinks and cosmetics. We examine the income distribution and tax revenue impacts using the commodity data from the household expenditure survey by and the effective tax rates expressed as a percentage of the value of the final consumption of each item. As in many developing countries, taxes on alcoholic beverages and tobacco products are found to be regressive. The most regressive excise taxes are on soft drinks and cosmetics. Households across the economy pay more in excise taxes on cosmetics than they do on either alcoholic beverages or tobacco products. Relative to the level of household expenditures, the burden of the excise taxes on cosmetics is highest for households in the lowest quintile of total expenditures. The impact of soft drinks in creating obesity is likely to be much greater for high income households whose total consumption per household is twice that of low-income households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the World Health Organization's declaration of the new coronavirus as a pandemic, nations had to act swiftly to draft effective strategies for the prevention and containment of COVID-19. International literature highlights a range of approaches taken by countries, with varying degrees of success, as measured by the quality and responsiveness of their public health systems. This brief perspective proposes a critical-gerontological reflection on the Central American countries, highlighting the divergent regional approaches to the pandemic that resulted in unequal figures between nations. Despite the intention to face the health challenge collectively, varying governmental positions had a direct impact on the health of the older population. Costa Rica and Panama responded similarly to the crisis, showcasing their better social and health scenarios compared to their peers. The Central American approach to public health was tailored to the political ideology of each country, rather than adhering to the common objectives set by the regional integration scheme in place. Despite the pandemic posing a challenge, the region remains committed to building universal, equitable, and comprehensive public health for older people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the Colonial Period, Maya communities underwent significant social and religious transformations. This paper investigates how the Maya communities of Lamanai, Belize maintained resilience in the 16th century. By examining ethnohistorical and archaeological evidence at Lamanai, especially zoomorphic effigies at two Christian churches, the study demonstrates that resilience was not solely a product of human agency but also arose from engagement with other species and materials. Drawing influence from process philosophy, this paper redefines resilience as a dynamic and creative process encompassing active adaptation, reorganisation, and transformation. It argues that the ability to cross boundaries is essential to resilience. Maya communities were able to transcend the boundaries of properties, entities, realities, and cultures, which enabled them to re-envision their relationships with others and the world. Boundary-crossing allowed them to navigate complex changes with ease and integrate diverse cultural elements into their identity, ultimately fostering resilience in the face of colonial challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In marine ecosystems, predators can affect community and ecosystem dynamics through a variety of processes such as foraging facilitation. Here, we report evidence of foraging facilitation between common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and double-crested cormorants (Nannopterum auritum) in the Caribbean seagrass-dominated atoll of Turneffe, Belize using aerial drone observations conducted in 2015-2017. While dolphins exhibited occasional aggressive behaviours toward the cormorants, the latter frequently followed dolphin movements, suggesting opportunistic pursuit of dolphins for prey access during dolphin bottom foraging activity. Our observations underscore the intricate ecological relationships among marine predators and highlight the need to quantify the mutual benefits and costs of such interactions as coastal ecosystems are rapidly changing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economies and livelihoods in the Caribbean strongly depend on the terrestrial and marine natural resource base. There are critical gaps in quantitative data and the contextual and compositional factors affecting perceptions of changes in ecosystems and natural resources. This paper used interview data from 441 households in Belize, Dominican Republic, and Suriname to explore the contextual and compositional determinants of perceptions of change in the quality of the terrestrial, coastal/marine environment and natural resources as a composite variable. The outcome variable comprised changes in fishing effort, marine and coastal environment, forest cover, agricultural land area, and soil fertility, and relationships with predictor variables were explored using univariate, bivariate, and three multivariate models. At the univariate level, most respondents in Belize and Suriname reported perceiving a significant increase in fishing effort (i.e. days and fuel spent at sea) and a decrease in forest cover, quality of the coastal/marine environment, area of agricultural land, and fertility and productivity of soils. Sex, marital status, household size, and years of experience were not significantly associated with the terrestrial variables and fishing effort. Sex was only significantly associated with the quality of the marine environment. At the multivariate level, the elderly, high school education, and household incomes were associated with a lower perception of the outcome variable. It is concluded that policy and interventions should strongly consider ethnicity and community, and improve education and household incomes to enhance perceptions of changes in the quality of the terrestrial and coastal/marine environment in the studied countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2019, the Maya Leaders Alliance unveiled "The Future We Dream," a vision document sharing a common interest among the Mopan and Q'eqchi' Maya people of Belize for a future in which they are committed to sustaining a reciprocal relationship with and stewardship of the land. In this context, this paper shares results from three communities bordering a forest reserve who were asked to identify important practices, which they considered "traditional" and "environmentally sustainable," as part of a collaborative NGO project to promote indigenous forest management. Through analysis of data collected alongside Indigenous Community Promoters (ICPs), it explores how these terms were defined and deployed to discuss healthy forests and healthy communities. The paper discusses how collaborative and community- led data collection addresses both the need to decolonize sustainability discourse and produce better data for better project outcomes (Maya, traditional ecological knowledge, forest management, environmental sustainability, indigenous land rights). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Metamasius callizona (Chevrolat) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is an invasive weevil destroying Tillandsia utriculata L. (Bromeliaceae) populations in Florida, USA. A T. utriculata population in Belize coexists with M. callizona without adverse effects. Tillandsia utriculata and M. callizona from Belize and Florida were studied in the laboratory to determine how Belize T. utriculata can coexist with Belize M. callizona, using Florida and Belize T. utriculata, as well as pineapple, Ananas comosus (L.) Merr. (Bromeliaceae), as host plants. Florida M. callizona on pineapple leaves produced more eggs per female per day and had a shorter developmental time and pupation period, as well as a smaller adult width, than Belize M. callizona. Florida and Belize weevils did not differ significantly in rates of egg hatch, pupation, and adult emergence. Florida M. callizona laid similar numbers of eggs per day on Florida and Belize T. utriculata. Egg hatch rates were similar on pineapple and Florida and Belize T. utriculata. Pupation rates were similar on pineapple and Florida T. utriculata leaves; no larvae on Belize T. utriculata attained fourth instar. Field and laboratory observations revealed that Belize and Florida M. callizona mined Belize T. utriculata without destroying the meristem, allowing plants to survive, but Belize M. callizona destroyed the core of pineapple tops. Soluble solids were greatest in pineapple and least in Belize T. utriculata. Leaf toughness was greatest in pineapple and least in Florida T. utriculata. Metamasius callizona biology and behavior and T. utriculata plant characteristics may drive the severity of weevil damage on populations of T. utriculata. The discovery of a T. utriculata population in Belize coexisting with M. callizona offers a possible way to control M. callizona in Florida. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development projects present ambiguous ethical terrain for anthropologists to navigate. Particularly in relation to WaSH (Water, Sanitation, Hygiene) infrastructures which mediate human and environmental health. Our interdisciplinary team of anthropologists and engineers initially set out to design context‐sensitive on‐site wastewater treatment infrastructures for homes along Belize's Placencia Peninsula. The project's beginning coincided with the announcements of a government sponsored centralized wastewater infrastructure project and the construction of a cruise ship port on a nearby island, however. Soon the wastewater project's promises—economic opportunity, improved human and environmental health, modernization ‐ came crashing into its pratfalls—exacerbating existing inequalities, loss of livelihoods, and diminished local governance. Our team was left with uncertain decisions about how to engage with improving infrastructure, given the emerging community dynamics. By detailing the imperfect trade‐offs at play, we highlight ethical complexities inherent when communities' development futures are at stake. Anthropology's fraught history includes legacies of unintended harms from entanglement in others' inequities. However, avoiding involvement out of excessive caution risks leaving marginalized voices unheard and extant problems unresolved. This case immersed our team in the inherent optimism and ethical experimentation which underlie development contexts. Our analysis adopts the structure from Whiteford and Trotters' (2008) "Ethical‐Problem Solving Guide" to reveal the layered tensions that underly critical WaSH infrastructures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coral reef ecosystems are delicately balanced and are thus prone to disruption by stressors such as storms, disease, climate variability and natural disasters. Most tropical coral populations worldwide are now in rapid decline owing to additional anthropogenic pressures, such as global warming, ocean acidification and a variety of local stressors. One such problem is the addition of excess sediment and nutrients flux to reefs from increased soil erosion from land use changes. Here we present century‐long Ba/Ca records from two Siderastrea siderea colonies as a proxy for local riverine discharge and sediment flux to the southern Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System (MBRS). The coral colonies have linear extension trends, which can be seen as a first‐order indicator for coral health and response. The coral colony that exhibits a decline in linear extension rate from the forereef of the MBRS, mainly receives riverine input from Honduras, whilst the coral from the backreef, which does not exhibit a decline in extension rate, primarily receives riverine input from more sparsely populated regions of Belize. Coral Ba/Ca increased (>70%) through time in the forereef colony, while the backreef colony showed little long‐term increase in Ba/Ca over the last century. Our results suggest that increasing sediment supply may have played a role in the decline of forereef skeletal extension in the southernmost MBRS region, likely stemming from increasing land‐use changes in Honduras. Key Points: Coral skeletal Ba/Ca measured by LA‐ICP‐MS is a proxy for river discharge and sediment flux to the reefs in this studySkeletal Ba/Ca has increased in forereef corals that mainly receive riverine flux from HondurasResults suggest that changing land‐use around the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System could be influencing long‐term coral growth trends [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explore the impact of a millennium-long period of decreased rainfall during the transition from the Middle to Late Holocene on human diet and population dynamics in the northern neotropical Maya Lowlands. To do so, we use a nearby paleo-precipitation reconstruction to evaluate the timing of this period of reduced rainfall and compare those data to population proxies and stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen from directly dated human bone spanning the interval of interest. Our results show that decreased precipitation coincided with archaeological and isotopic evidence for increasing reliance on maize as a dietary staple. Two rockshelter sites located in Southern Belize have produced a mortuary assemblage that spans the Holocene. These assemblages provide a unique opportunity to examine how early farmers during the transition to agriculture may have been affected by Middle to Late Holocene climate change. Between 5600 and 4200 cal BP lowland populations were already consuming significant amounts of maize reflected in proxies for the protein and the whole diet portions, suggesting the establishment of farming communities at least 800–2200 years before the emergence of public architecture. We demonstrate that increasing reliance on maize shows the resilience of farming populations to climate variability during this crucial period just prior to massive demographic change and the emergence of complex economic institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]