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The Beauty of the Chiquibul Forest

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The Beauty of the Chiquibul Forest COMMUNITY OUTREACH CAMPAIGN The Beauty of the Chiquibul Forest Promoting Bi-national Community Participation through Environmental Education Efforts PROJECT PLAN 2014-2015 March 2014 Page 0 The Chiquibul Forest Community Outreach Program is funded by: The British Embassy, who supports a wide range of British interests within Belize and plays an active role in improving links between Belize and the United Kingdom. Implemented by: FCD whose mission is to motivate the public to protect the environment through conservation awareness while enhancing the development of the human resource. Asociación Balam whose objective is to conserve the natural and cultural heritage of Guatemala through the incorporation of civil society in its management. CONAP aims to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and protected areas of Guatemala, as well as the natural goods and services that they provide to present and future generations, by designing, coordinating and ensuring implementation of policies, norms, incentives and strategies in collaboration with other stakeholders. MANMUNISURP is an inter-municipal organization that coordinates and manages joint actions for sustainable development (social, cultural, economic and environmental) in order to improve the quality of life of the population in southern Peten. Guatemala. This plan is aimed at conducting a full community outreach campaign in the Cayo District. It will complement a full campaign that will occur parallel in south Petem through FCD and its partners. Page 1 The Beauty of the Chiquibul Forest Introduction The Chiquibul Forest The Chiquibul Forest is located in the Cayo district. To the north it is bordered by the Vaca Forest Reserve and Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve. To the south and east it is delimited by the Maya Mountains Main Divide, and on the west by the Caracol Archaeological Monument and the Belize/Guatemala international boundary. The Chiquibul forest is comprised of three protected areas. The Chiquibul National Park (CNP) was established in 1995 and is the largest protected area in Belize with a total acreage of 285,937. The national park was designated for the protection and preservation of the natural and scenic values that it contains. The Chiquibul Forest Reserve (CFR) was designated in 1995 and has a total area of 147,823.10 acres. The Forest Reserve is primarily designed for protection of the forests, for management of timber extraction and for the conservation of soil, watershed and the wildlife resources (ESB 2000). The Caracol Archaeological Reserve is comprised of 25,549.50 acres and is managed by the Institute of Archaeology. Climate Belize is a tropical country, but because of its location in the outer tropical geographical belt, there exists a noticeable variation in average monthly temperatures. Also, there exists considerable variation in the monthly amount of rainfall with a dry season from February through May and a wet season from June through January. In addition there exists considerable variation in the annual amount of rainfall in Belize, with the North-east receiving as little as 1200 mm/year (48”) and the South-east as much as 4,000 mm/year (160”). Although an automated weather station has recently been installed at the FCD ranger station, no reliable long term weather data exist for the area. Generally it is believed that the Chiquibul falls with the 2000 mm/year (80”) zone. But rainfall is likely to increase towards the south and in the higher areas along the Maya Mountain Divide. The rainy season to an extent coincides with the hurricane season, associated with passing tropical storms – particularly in August, September and October. Hurricanes originate over warm seas, and develop into a cyclonic form that can be very destructive. Hurricanes have periodically caused extensive damage to the Chiquibul in the past century. Page 2 It should be noted that although the Chiquibul is on the leeward side of the Maya Mountains the impact from hurricanes is still substantial. Hydrology The entire Chiquibul Forest forms part of the Belize River Watershed. Along with this there are two main sub-drainage systems formed by the Macal and the Mopan (here with the Chiquibul River as the main tributary). The division between the two sub-watersheds splits the Chiquibul Forest roughly in two. Notable is the difference between surface drainage patterns between the two sub- watersheds. In the Macal sub-watershed, there exists abundant surface drainage (small streams), while the Mopan sub-watershed has a large subterranean component. Geology and soils The geology of the Chiquibul Forest splits into two main groups (Cornec, 2003). Cretaceous limestone make up the western half and Permian meta-sediments (including sandstones of the Santa Rosa Group) in the east and following the Maya Mountain Divide. Also along the main Maya Mountain Divide, but then restricted to the extreme south are some ancient volcanic deposits (Bladen Volcanic Member). The general geology has consequences for the overall landscape and geology of the area. The limestone is very permeable and this is the reason why there is so little surface water in the western part of the Chiquibul. It also explains the abundance of caves and sinkholes in the area. The soils of the Chiquibul reflect the geology, where the soils are on limestone. The soils tend to be basic and by tropical soil standards, relatively fertile. On the other hand, over the steeper limestone hills, the soils have been classified by Wright (1959) as skeletal, meaning that they are very shallow and that bedrock is protruding on many places. Typically, mechanized agriculture is not possible on such soils but due to their relatively high fertility they are quite suited for milpa agriculture. On the meta-sediments and volcanic deposits to the east and south more acidic soils are found. These soils tend to be very weathered, acidic and poor in nutrients. On top of that they tend to be on very steep slopes as well and the soils in many cases can be classified skeletal as well. Vegetation The 2004 version of the Belize Ecosystems Map (Meerman & Sabido, 2001) recognizes 17 ecosystems for the Chiquibul Forest. The majority of these ecosystems are variants of broadleaf forest distinguished on the base of humidity, elevation and substrate. Socioeconomic Status Belize is a multiethnic society in Central America with Caribbean influences. Mestizos, Creoles, Garifunas and Mayas ethnic groups forms the majority of the population and with significant minorities - East Indian, Mennonites and Chinese. The 2010 census accounts for 324,528 persons Page 3 living in Belize with an annual growth of 2.65. The Cayo District accounts for 75,046 of the total population. 10,271 of which 54.8 percent live in rural areas and 45.2 percent in urban areas. The ethnic groups with highest percentages are Mestizos and Creoles with 52.9 percent and 26 percent respectively. The main foreign exchange earner of the Belizean economy is agriculture and tourism. Exportation of marine products, citrus, sugar, bananas and garments are also other important contributors to the economy. In the Cayo District the main source of income comes through agriculture and tourism. Mestizo villages like Arenal, Seven Miles, San Antonio, Valley of Peace are well known for their small scale farming that do grain and vegetable production. However, the Mennonite community of Spanish Lookout supplies most of the country's poultry, dairy and grain. San Ignacio town is the gateway for many of the natural and culture based tourist attractions within the district which include caving, birding, canoeing, horseback riding, tubing, and mountain biking. The Cayo district has gained the reputation as the Ecotourism Center of Belize with key natural resources including rivers, waterfalls, caves, natural scenery, and diverse flora and fauna (Sustainable Tourism Program, n.d.). Therefore, many have gone into the tourism sector of the service industry, of restaurants, lodging, tour operators amongst other. Management of the Chiquibul Forest The Chiquibul forest is divided in three protected areas. The Caracol Archaeological Reserve, the Chiquibul Forest Reserve and the Chiquibul National Park; however; they are separately managed by different institutions. The Caracol Archaeological Reserve is administered by the Institute of Archaeology. The Forest Department has complete administration over the Chiquibul Forest Reserve while it co-manages the Chiquibul National Park with Friends for Conservation and Development (FCD) since 2007. Actual conditions of the Chiquibul Forest In the late 1990’s agricultural incursions by Guatemalans in the Caracol Archaeological Reserve and on the western region of the Chiquibul forest were reported. Within the Chiquibul Forest there are no human settlements but an estimated 65 Guatemalan communities are found in a 45 km stretch along the Belize-Guatemala border of which 11 are buffering the Chiquibul Forest western flank. Due to the high level of forest fragmentation in neighboring Guatemala, these villagers have constantly been illegally harvesting the resources of the Chiquibul Forest (Arevalo, 2013). Presently, the primary activities in the Chiquibul forest which can affect the integrity of the area include illegal logging, xate extraction, hunting for game, poaching, looting, gold mining, forest fires, and agricultural incursions. Las Cuevas Research Station staff has documented the illegal xate extraction by Guatemalans as early as 2000.
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