Coastal Zone Management Act, Chapter 329 (Act No. 5 of 1998).

An Act to provide for the improvement of coastal zone management in Belize through the establishment of a Coastal Zone Management Authority and a Coastal Zone Management Institute; to provide for the establishment of a Board of Directors to control, and manage the affairs of the Authority; to provide for the preparation of a Coastal Zone Management Plan to provide for the establishment of mechanisms to improve the monitoring of various activities within the coastal zone; to provide for the payment of fees and charges related to the use of the coastal zone; and to provide for matters connected therewith. The Act consist of 38 sections divided into 7 Parts: Preliminary (I); Establishment and objectives of the Authority, the Council and the Institute (II); Appointment of staff, etc. of the Authority and the Institute (III); Administration (IV); Coastal Zone Management Plan (VI); Financial provisions, accounts and reports (VI); General (VII).
"Coastal zone" is defined in section 2 as "the area bounded by the shoreline up to the mean high-water-mark on its landward side and by the outer limit of the territorial sea on its seaward side, including all coastal waters". “Coastal waters” means the sea, as that term is defined herein, and those waters adjacent of the landward line of the adjoining land, or of land connected permanently or intermittently with the sea, which contain a measurable quantity of seawater, including but not limited to sounds, bays, lagoons, ponds and estuaries.
"Coastal zone management" is intended as planning, management and sustainable development of resources within the coastal zone, including the conservation of the Barrier Reef.