IMPACT OF THE TERRITORIAL DISPUTE ON THE CHIQUIBUL ECOSYSTEM

This paper developed by Friends for Conservation and Development provides a technical brief of the state of affairs regarding cross border illegal activities in the J u l y 2 0 1 4 Chiquibul Forest. IMPACT OF THE TERRITORIAL DISPUTE ON THE CHIQUIBUL ECOSYSTEM

PRELUDE

As a co-manager of the since 2007, Friends for Conservation and development (FCD) has developed multiple reports for various governmental agencies pertaining to the challenges and threats faced in the Chiquibul forest. These reports have carried a rigorous level of analysis and verification prior to dissemination. A synthesis of the actual reality presented on this brief has been possible due to the good observation, recordings and research conducted by FCD personnel over the last seven years. FCD possesses photos, videos, maps, testimonials and THEother CHIQUIBULrecords to back FOREST up the statements provided on this brief.

The Chiquibul Forest consists of three protected areas, namely the Chiquibul National Park, Chiquibul Forest Reserve and the Archaeological Reserve. These three areas encompass a total of over 437,000 acres representing 7.7% of the entire country. It forms a part of the tri- national Maya Forest ecosystem and due to its sheer size it plays a critical role for the maintenance of unique wild plant and animal populations, including endangered species such as the scarlet macaw, and tapir. Water and other environmental services are also priceless commodities derived from this forest. No economic valuation has been made of these resources; however; it is THEexpected ACTUAL that the SITUATION Chiquibul Forest is worth over Bz$3.43 billion.

Although the country maintains in place confidence building measures with , on the ground the destruction of the Chiquibul ecosystem continues unabated. Nowhere else in the entire country of is there such a systematic devastation being conducted inside a protected area at such a scale as that registered in the Chiquibul forest, which shares a border with Guatemala of 43 kilometers. Across the Guatemalan landscape, there are over 63 communities that exert a pressure on Belize’s natural and cultural resources. These communities are nearby or inside their own protected area, the Chiquibul Maya Mountain Biosphere Reserve, which as a result of a lack of governance have practically denuded and completely fragmented the reserve and putting in total risk its viability. Population increase in these area of south Peten, Guatemala is considered to be 2.9% annually, therefore, the future does not seem promising, unless Guatemala takes more direct involvement in dissuading its people from encroaching into Belizean territory for the resources that it still maintain in relatively good stocks ranging from timber, wildlife, and fertile soils. These unwarranted acts are resulting in a fuel up of national resentment in Belize and a build-up of tensions that eventually can lead to an escalation of conflict. This reality goes against the true spirit of the confidence building measures. It is therefore, imperative that measures be taken in putting a higher level of governance across both territories and create a strong platform of community participation aimed at community sustainableENVIRONMENTAL developmentTHREATS and rural poverty alleviation. Xateros

In 2007 when FCD got its co-management agreement from the Forest Department there were estimates of approximately 1,500 Guatemalan nationalsxate in the Chiquibul forest engaged in the illegal collection and transportation of palms. A maze of trails was mapped where one could observe how systematically they went covering kilometer by kilometer as time passed by. By 2010 it reached a peak. FCD patrols documented Guatemalans operating as far as the northern flank of Natural Monument, namely over 55 kilometers inside Belize. In 2005, an economic assessment of xate in the Chiquibul Forest Reserve, estimated that in a period of five years some 37.8 million leaves with a value of Bz$1 million [or Bz$2.8 million, if highest recent prices were used]1 had been extracted from the Chiquibul Forest Reserve illegally. In 2012, an FCD study showed that xate populations in the Chiquibul forest were under stress and that the species faced commercial to local extinction if the trend continued. Today the xate illegal activity is lower though there are specific periods when there are spikes of increase. Images and reports documented in June Illegal2014 demonstrated Logging that xatero activity was once more on the increase.

Although xatero activity generally decreased after 2010 the problem became more complex as Guatemalan nationals used the existing trails for logging activities. The Caracol Archeological Reserve has shown significant devastation as mahogany and cedar have been targeted for large, medium and small tress. To date illegal logging is occurring as far as 12 kilometers inside Belize and has expanded south of the Caracol region across the Chiquibul landscape. Despite efforts of law enforcement since 1 An assessment of Xate populations and the effect of habitat complexity on xate stocks in the Chiquibul Forest, Belize. FCD 2012. 2011, the trend has not been controlled. Loggers are tactical 2using sentries and young boys to assist in the trafficking of timber. FCD’s 2012 assessment indicated that Belize has had an approximate economic loss of US$9,448,144.00, due to illegal logging, causing the Central Government an approximate loss of US$290,177.00 in royalties alone. 2 Furthermore, assuming a conservative carbon credit value of US$ 7 per metric ton of CO equivalent, deforestation due to illegal logging has caused an approximate economic loss of GoldUS$ 2,068,752.00. Panning

In late 2011 FCD started documenting systematically gold panning activity in south Chiquibul. The volcanic region of the Chiquibul, located on the extreme southern region and high slopes of the has been explored for some years but extraction of gold had only been made by Boiton Minerals for commercial purposes. Community members from Monte Los Olivos and nearby areas started panning gold and eventually further away communities became involved. Presently panners are active some 8 kilometers inside Belize and have moved further south away from the Ceibo Chico Conservation Post region, which originally had been installed in 2012 to reduce the gold panning activity. The area is remote and dangerous to operate due to the rocky terrain. Ground zero, where Guatemalans are operating, have seriously been impacted due to the trenches built, garbage accumulations and fecal deposits made nearby the birthplace of the Chiquibul river. The true environmental impacts are unknown, however it is clear that the alteration of the watershed at its birthplace should be a serious concern for both Belize and Guatemalan communities that depend on this watershed.Agricultural farming

Deforestation as a cause of agricultural encroachments is an activity occurring since before 1987. Aerial photography analysis indicated that an area of 113 hectares was deforested by then. Satellite imagery analysis clearly indicate that over the last 24 years there has been a clear increase in area being deforested within the Chiquibul Forest, accounting up to May of 2011 for an area of 4,931 ha. 2 Illegal Logging in the Chiquibul Forest, An Economic and Ecological Valuation Assessment, FCD 2012. Based on the available historical deforestation data (1987 to 2011) the annual rate of deforestation along this 24 year time period was calculated at 200 ha. per year. It must be clearly stated that this figure does not mean that annually there is an increase in land under agricultural production but this also includes areas deforested due to fires as a consequence of those escaping when farmers burn their fields. If no aggressive interventions are set in place to cease the present rate of deforestation it will inevitably continue to increase in a linear manner. Based on a business as usual projection model it is estimated that by 2015, an estimated area3 of 5734 ha. will be deforested and by 2035, the total deforested area will be 9,749 ha. To date large fields are still being farmed by Guatemalans inside the Caracol Archaeological Reserve and the Chiquibul National Park. By May 2014, security forces and FCD rangers destroyed a few field though there are still large areas that were not addressed. Pumpkin corn and beans are the main crops planted inside Poachingthe protected areas by Guatemalan locals. Losses have not been quantified for this year.

Illegal hunting within the Chiquibul Forest has been increasing over the years due to an increase of the human footprint expansion by xateros and loggers further into the Belizean territory. At first hunting as only for subsistence but over the years it has shifted to commercial purposes. It is uncertain how many hunters are in the Chiquibul on daily basis but the scarcity of wildlife species is evident. Hunting is having a direct impact on the game species but also on the entire forest as well as many species serve as seed dispersers and or herbivores. Poaching for exotics species such as scarlet macaws and tapirs is of high concern. With approximately 100 pairs of macaws in the country, the steady raid on macaws annually 4by Guatemalans can lead to a complete extinction of the species. The 2013 report recorded a total of 22 xateros/poachers sighted, of which two were detained by Law Enforcement personnel plus food and other material were confiscated. During each sighting an average of 1.83 poachers were recorded. On three different occasions poachers were observed with horses. The abundance of make-shift camps recorded suggest that there was a high concentration of individuals engaged on illegal activities in the study area. For this year, poachers showed a high level of determination and patrols have come close to arresting them. One chick less than a week old was found left by a poacher along with a .22 rifle and 43 bullets.

3 Deforestation (Agricultural encroachments) In the Chiquibul National Park. Technical Report. FCD 2011

4 Scarlet Macaw Monitoring Program. Final Report – Macaw Nesting period 2013. FCD 2013. Drug cultivation

Drug cultivation is becoming more evident in south Chiquibul in the area of Cebada. Last year security forces destroyed over 37,500 plants of marijuana inside the Chiquibul National Park. Several Guatemalans captured in recent years have been found with marijuana and firearms, indicating that encounters with Guatemalans can be more risky and possibility for aggressive confrontations. It is therefore vital that a conservation post is placed urgently and a matter of priority in the Cebada area. Once drugs takes a foothold, it will be more complicated to control and the area will be too volatile to manage and govern. URGENT CALL

Last year’s Chiquibul Symposium served as a platform for informing the public at large about the actual situation and the need for mobilizing new efforts. FCD outlined a set of recommendations aimed at strengthening governance and management of the Chiquibul forest. One year after, most of the recommendations have not been mobilized as yet whilst the trend keeps on putting us at risk of losing more and more natural resources, and creating an environment for conflict.

The signing of a roadmap between Guatemala and Belize in January 2014 has been seen as a formidable and concise step towards generating a confident support from Guatemala thereby diluting the ongoing incursions and encroachments. But the roadmap still does not have a body – it is in itself a skeleton. Hopefully soon a Memorandum of Understanding for the protection of the environment can be reached between Belize and Guatemala that can enable a set of coordinated actions conducive towards deterring the advancement of Guatemalans further into Belizean territory as they seek Belize’s rich natural and cultural resources, and collaborate in synchronicity for the protection of shared ecosystems such as the Chiquibul forest.

Since the Chiquibul Symposium in June 2013, where an outpour of support and concern was generated nationally, the urgent call is that the magnitude of the problem is still there and the trans-boundary environmental threat must be embraced as an integral part of a national and bi-national agenda.

The ecosystem is fragile. In the end the demise of the Chiquibul forest will affect both Belizeans and Guatemalans. President J. F Kennedy wrote, “Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belabouring on those problems which divide us.” And further from exploring we need to move to actions of things that never were.