WCS Belize

Belize, formerly known as British Honduras, lies south of Mexico along the Caribbean Sea. Sparsely populated, Belize is a small democratic country that has shown a remarkable commitment to conservation. More than 40% of its area is under formal protection and nearly 75% is still under forest cover. The largest contiguous tropical forest north of the Amazon, La Selva Maya (The Maya Forest) is shared with Mexico and Guatemala in the northwest. In 1980 WCS began reef research and jaguar studies in Belize. The work of WCS’s Alan Rabinowitz resulted in the establishment of Belize’s Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary (CBWS) in 1990, the world’s first jaguar reserve. In 2002, WCS inaugurated the Belize Marine Program, which collaborates closely with the Glover's Reef Marine Research Station.  

The Human Aspect
Belize is a rich ethnic mix of mestizo, creole, Garifuna, Maya, and European people. Most towns and villages are concentrated along the coast. However, rural development and road improvement is expanding with population growth. Increased accessibility is putting pressure on Belize’s protected areas. Thus, it remains critical to work closely with the government of Belize and leading conservation NGOs (non-governmental organizations) to formulate protected area policies and to promote and implement biodiversity conservation. 

Threats
Accelerated habitat loss due to human activities (e.g., agriculture, resource extraction, road development, and other economic initiatives) is occurring in or around areas of conservation concern with little or no effective law enforcement. Improved coordination and cooperation between stakeholders is needed within La Selva Maya and throughout Mesoamerica. Finally, inadequate knowledge of species distribution and status within Belize constrains informed decision-making.

WCS Activities
WCS-Belize focuses in four general areas. First, we work closely with the Belize government on national initiatives with a focus on biodiversity planning and policy strategies. This also entails collaboration with local NGOs, protected area planning (both government and private), and capacity building. A long-term focus as of 1990 has been linking habitat corridors throughout Belize. Second, we conduct jaguar density studies using camera traps in order to better understand populations and document the importance of Gallon Jug Estate, the Selva Maya, and Cockscomb Basin as havens for biodiversity in northern Central America. (Our base in Gallon Jug may be home to source populations of jaguars that disperse into the Selva Maya.)  Third, through innovative research and mentoring young biologists from the region, we strive to conserve bats within critical habitats in the Selva Maya landscape by identifying at-risk species. Finally, WCS researchers based at Glover's Reef carry out marine conservation activities in Belize and beyond.

Important Next Steps

• Stay the course: continue to work closely with the Belize government and collaborators to formalize the national biodiversity strategy plan under the Convention on Biodiversity and the National Protected Areas Plan.
• Continue bat monitoring and jaguar density studies.
• Continue training and mentoring regional biologists under the NEOBAT project with the goal of completing the assessments of the conservation status of bat species for each Central American country.
• Conduct field work to close distributional knowledge gaps for species of conservation concern in Belize with an emphasis on protected areas and corridor linkages.
• Develop a jaguar-livestock outreach program for southern Belize.
• Address illegal poaching in Belizean protected areas.
• Support the Glover's Reef Marine Reserve by assisting in the development of the operational plan and incorporating changes to the reserve design.