Belize, Guatemala and Honduras are to carry forward a joint program to halt the dumping of garbage and other pollutants in the western Gulf of Honduras, on the Atlantic Ocean. The eight-million-dollar plan, financed by the Inter-American Development Bank, will be launched in mid-2003.

The project aims to be financially self-sustaining, with revenues to come from granting recycling concessions, imposing fines on ships violating environmental rules, and collecting tariffs from the private sector for using port services.