thepolygonsrepresentingtheareasclaimedonlandandinthe

sea.ThelegallybindinginternationaltreatiesbetweenGuatema-

laandBelizeprovidedthegeographiclocationsoftheareas

claimed,“fromtheSibunRivertotheSarstoonRiver”,allowing

metointerpretthisonthemap.

ThemaritimeareasclaimedbyGuatemalaalsoinvolvedmodify-

ingdifferentdatasetstotraceterritorialwatersof12nautical

miles.Usingdifferentgeo-processingtoolslikethe“buffer”,

“clipping”,or“dissolve”tools,Iestablishedahypotheticalmari-

timeboundarybetweenBelizeandtheareasclaimedbyGuate-

mala.

MAP2–Thismapshowsanexampleoftheanalysisthatmap-

pingtechnologycanprovide,inthiscaselookingattheethnic

compositionofBelize’spopulation,andthelocationofsigni icant

settlementssuchastownsofcities.Usingdifferentanalysistools

thismapcancontributetoidentifyinghowmanypeoplelivein

theareasclaimedbyGuatemala,theirethniccomposition,and

thenumberoftowns.

MAP3–Thismapprovidesanexampleofanalysisonphysical

attributesofageographiclocation.Inthiscasethemaplooksat

thedifferentecologicalsub-regionsonthemainlandandmarine

protectedareasalso.Bygeo-locatingthesedatasetsandinte-

gratingthemintothemap,anumberofusefulinformationcan

becomputedandextracted.Forexample,itcanhelptoidentify

thenumberandnatureofeachecologicalsub-regionorprotect-

edarea,andtheirterritorialextension.

WhileGIShasanenormouspotentialfordisputeresolution,its

successdependsonthedataavailable.Amajorchallengeinthis

exercisewasacquiringthedatatobeusedintheanalysis.Data

forBelizeisdif iculttolocate,anditisoftenoutdatedorpoorin

quality.

Anothershortcomingofthemapishowthehypotheticalmari-

timeborderwascreated.Abettermethodofdeterminingthe

midwaypointsbetweentheoverlappingmaritimeclaimsneeds

tobeexplored.Inthisparticularcasetheboundarywasdrawnas

 

GeographicInformationSystem(GIS)technologycanbeuseful

forresolvingterritorialdisputes,includingattheinternational

level.WhileGIStechnologycannotsolveterritorialdisputesby

itself,itcanbeusedbythepartiesinvolvedasatoolforcon i-

dencebuilding,transparency,andinformationsharing.Byclear-

lymappingtheareasclaimedbyonepartyandoverlayingdata

ofallsorts,allstakeholderscanacknowledge‘whatisatstake’

inthedispute.AspatialviewofallthatisclaimedbyGuatemala

isusefulforallpartiesandstakeholdersinvolvedinthedispute,

fortransparencyandasamutuallyagreedstartingpointtoany

negotiations

ThisGISprojectprovidesanexampleofhowmappingtechnolo-

gycanprovideessentialinformationusefulfornegotiationsina

territorialdispute.Byusingtechniquestogeo-processavailable

data,thisexerciseillustrateswithconcreteexampleshowGIS

technologycancontributetoresolvingdisputes.

GuatemalaandBelizehavebeenembroiledinaterritorialand

maritimedisputesincethe18thcentury.InOctober2013both

countrieswillholdsimultaneousreferendatodecidewhetherto

referthecasetotheInternationalCourtofJustice(ICJ)tosettle

thedisputeonceandforall.

Themapsproducedhereofferasnapshotofsomeofthekindof

informationthatcanbeconsideredwhenengaginginaterrito-

rialdispute.Includedinthisexercisearethreemapsshowing:

(1)theareasofBelizeclaimedbyGuatemala;(2)thepopula-

tionanditsethniccompositionintheareasclaimedbyGuate-

mala;and(3)thelocationofspeci icresourcesfoundinthe

claimedareas.Atablesummarizingtheresultsisalsodisplayed.

MAP1–The irstmapthatneededtobeproducedistheareas

claimedbyGuatemalaoverBelize.InordertodothisIhadto

manipulatesomeofthegeospatialinformation ilestocreate

anexample,butitwouldrequireamorein-depthlookathowit

canbemarkedusingmorere inedandspeci iceditingtools.

Furthermore,withtheproperdatasetsaGISanalysisofaterri-

torialdisputecouldprovidemuchmorecomplex,complete,and

relevantinformationthatinthiscasewerenotincluded.Quality

dataoneconomicandothervariablessuchasrevenuefrom

tourismwouldgiveagreatervaluetotheanalysisofaterritorial

dispute.Forthepurposesofthismaponlyexamplesofthetypes

ofanalysesthatcanbemadewereconducted.

Thefollowingtableisasummaryofresultsmixingdifferentda-

ta.Apolicymakerfacingnegotiationsoveraterritorialdispute

could indtheseresultsinterestingastheyshowrealnumbers

anddataof‘whatisatstake’;allprocessedthroughdifferent

analysistools.

Overview

GeospatialTechniquesandMethodsDif icultiesandLimitations

Map1‐ClaimedLandsinBelize

GISandTerritorialDisputes:TheCaseofGuatemalavs.Belize

Conclusions

Map2‐PopulationandEthnicityinClaimed

Map3‐ProtectedForestsandMarineAreas

Datacontainedwithinclaimedareas QuantitySizeofclaimedlands 7,574km2Sizeofclaimedsea 10,501km2MarineProtectedAreas 21SizeofMarineProtectedAreas 1,527km2ProtectedForests 40SizeofProtectedForests 2,802km2EthnicMayans 77,177EthnicLatinos 86,244EthnicCreole 58,504TotalPopulation 246,516

SummaryofResults

Cartographer:DavidMulet

Date:8May,2013

Course:GISforInternationalApplications,TheFletcherSchool,TuftsUniversity.

CoordinateSystem:NAD_1927_UTM_Zone_16N

Projection:Transverse_Mercator

Sources:GlobalAdministrativeAreas;FlandersMarineInstitute;ArcGISOnline;NaturalEarthData;StatisticsBelize;SelvaMayaConsortium;EROSDataCenter,USGeologicalSurvey;BiodiversityandEnvironmentalResourceDataSys-tem(BERDS)

References:

Wood,WilliamB.(2000).GISasaToolforTerritorialNegotiations.IBRUBoundaryandSecurityBulletin,autumn2000.

WorldResourcesInstitute(2008).TheEconomicContributionofBelize’sCoralReefsandMangroves,11Novem-ber2008.

Smith,Jeffrey(2010).TheWesternSaharaCase:De iningOceanTerritoryforAfrica’sLastColony.FletcherSchoolofLawandDiplomacy.

MinistryofForeignAffairsofGuatemala.HistoriaDiferendoTerritorialconBelice,june2010.