Conservation Value:

The small country of Belize has the lowest population density of all countries in Latin America (16 people/km² – less than half that of the U.S.).  The forests of central Belize connect two of the largest areas of unbroken protected habitat in Mesoamerica, the tri-national Maya Forest shared between Belize, Mexico and Guatemala comprising ~7,600,000 acres and the Maya Mountains comprising ~1,200,000 acres, uniting them as the single largest forest block north of the Amazon. The Belize Maya Forest Corridor includes gallery forst, pine savanna, rivers and freshwater lagoons.  Its broadleaf tropical forests constitute important habitats for diverse migratory and resident birds, including the globally Endangered non-migratory yellow-headed Amazon and the great curassow, an indicator of healthy forests. Endangered mammal species include Baird’s tapir, Yucatán spider monkey, Central American spider monkey and the Yucatán black howler monkey. The Critically Endangered Central American river turtle may still occur in the the Cox Lagoon wetlands, and this site is considered a viable location for rewilding the species in Belize. Also known locally as the Hickatee or Tortuga Blanca, it is the only living species in the family Dermatemydidae. Other threatened fauna include jaguar, white-lipped peccary, Morelet’s crocodile, and aplomado falcon. 

Threats:

This property was under immediate threat from conversion to sugar cane.  Belize Central Corridor is bisected by a major roadway, the Western Highway.  In recent decades, development has increasingly fragmented the natural corridor linking hundreds of thousands of hectares of forest across the north and the south.  Threats include habitat conversion for cattle grazing and agriculture,  unsustainable hunting and poaching, illegal logging, and human-induced fires.

Actions & Results:

In collaboration with Re:wild and other funders, ICFC contributed toward the purchase of a 14,064-acre parcel that helps link a large patchwork of other privately protected areas that form the Belize Maya Forest Corridor.