Perimeter Defense: Innovative Technologies for Detecting and Preventing Illegal Logging

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Perimeter Defense: Innovative Technologies for Detecting and Preventing Illegal Logging Perimeter Defense: Innovative Technologies for Detecting and Preventing Illegal Logging SESSION III: DEMO SITE: MAYA BIOSPHERE RESERVE, PETÉN, GUATEMALA The Maya Biosphere Reserve (MBR), established in 1990, is located in the Petén department of northern Guatemala, and covers 2.1 million hectares (5.2 million acres). The MBR makes up part of the Maya Forest (Selva Maya), which spans neighboring portions of Guatemala, Belize and Mexico. The Reserve makes up close to 20% of the country and 60% of the national protected areas system, provides 90% of the country’s petroleum, and is home to about 180,000 people. N: 17°49'N; 89°09'W S: 16°48'N; 90°33' W E: 17°49'N; 89°09'W W: 17°15'N; 91°26'W Map 1. Maya Biosphere Reserve, Petén, Guatemala. Image Source: CONAP General conditions Administrative authorities Consejo Nacional de Areas Protegidas (CONAP) Center for Conservation Studies (CECON) Instituto de Antropología e Historia (IDAEH) Zoning The biosphere reserve includes several core zones (36% of the reserve; 767,000 ha), a multiple use zone (40%; 848,400 ha) and a buffer zone (24%; 497,500 ha). The core zones consist of six national parks and four biotopes. It also contains a one cultural monument, and one municipal reserve, both informally recognized. By regulation, the core zones are restricted from heavy land management, and allowed uses include scientific research and tourism. The multiple use zone is used for low-impact use and it contains 10 forest concessions granted to communities and private industries managed for sustainable timber and non-timber forest extraction. Forest concessions are required to be certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). The buffer zone, which makes up the southern portion of the reserve, is most heavily used for agriculture and cattle ranching and has been the most heavily converted to non forest uses. Map 2. Use zones and concessions in the MBR. Image source: CONAP Map 3. Logging concessions in the Maya Biosphere Reserve. Image source: CONAP Source: Rainforest Alliance Values The MBR hosts a significant portion of the Guatemalan biodiversity containing close to 40% of vertebrates and vascular plants recorded for the country. It is also the last refuge of "landscape species" that need large portions of suitable habitat to have viable populations. This species include jaguars, white lipped peccaries, Baird`s tapirs, Morelet´s crocodiles and the last population of scarlet macaws in the country. The forests in the MBR contain also the biggest carbon reserve of Guatemala stored in live biomass and significant water resources including two of the most important rivers, the Usumacinta and the San Pedro. Along with biodiversity and natural conservation values, the MBR contains more than 2000 registered ancient Maya sites, some of them among the most important in terms of historical, artistic and architectural relevance. Examples of this sites include Tikal (a UNESCO World Heritage), Mirador, Piedras Negras, Yaxhá among many more. The MBR is also important because the globally recognized processes of forest management by communities, exemplary in the region and awarded several times both locally and internationally. Physical conditions Rainfall averages between 1,210 and 2,300 millimeters annually with a mean value of 1557 millimeters. Most of the rainfall occurs between the end of May and the beginning of January. Mean temperature ranges from 23°C to 26°C with a mean value of 25.1°C. The hottest and driest months are April and May when temperatures can reach values above 40°C. Soil fertility is in general poor and drainage conditions vary considerably across the reserve. Altitude ranges from 13 to 665 meters above sea level and the mean value is 184 meters above sea level. Habitats and land use Two dominant types of forest are present, broadleaved medium-tall and broadleaved low. The broadleaved medium-tall forest has an average height of 25 meters with emergent trees that can reach 35 meters. The broadleaved low forest has an average height of 10 meters and in the dry season is almost completely defoliated. Other types of natural habitats are "jimbales", a tall grass savanna that is highly combustible and almost every year burnt. A large complex of wetlands exists mostly in the Laguna del Tigre National Park (a Ramsar site) and two of the most important rivers of Guatemala, the Usumacinta and San Pedro are within the MBR and have large part of their catchment area in the reserve. Anthropogenic land uses are dominated by cattle ranches that use large extensions of land to grow bovines. Subsistence agriculture is mostly based in the production of maize and beans, but occupies a much smaller area compared to cattle ranching. Emerging land uses include African oil palm, Teak plantations and papaya, all of them still relatively small in terms of area cultivated, but expanding very fast. The average net conversion rate of forests for between 2000-2014 is close to a loss of 17,000 hectares annually with significant variation during that period of time. The highest rate value was reached in 2009 with more than 25,000 hectares lost, and since then it has lowered to values around 11,000 hectares between 2012-2014. Map 4. Forest Cover Change in the MBR, 2000-2013. Image source: CONAP Human population and accessibility The MBR has an estimated population of 180,000, mostly (64%) in the Buffer Zone. The Multiple Use Zone has close to 20% of the population mainly in the "Ruta a Carmelita" and "Ruta a Melchor de Mencos" corridors and the Laguna del Tigre and Sierra del Lacandón National Parks host close to 14%. Accessibility is highly correlated to human settlements and easier in the Buffer Zone. Significant portions of areas easily accessible are located along the México-Guatemala border in the Northwest of the reserve, due to the presence of populations and infrastructure in the Mexican side and to the Usumacinta river that is a navigable waterway. The less accessible areas are located in the North-central and Northeastern portions of the reserve and coincide with the best conserved habitat. Threats Using the Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation1 threat taxonomy the following list of threats identifies those relevant to the MBR with a level of importance value. Threat according to OSPC Present Importance Threat according to OSPC Present Importance 1 Residential & Commercial Development 7 Natural System Modifications 1.1 Housing & Urban Areas Yes Very low 7.1 Fire & Fire Suppression Yes Very high 1.2 Commercial & Industrial Areas No 7.2 Dams & Water Management/Use Yes Low 1.3 Tourism & Recreation Areas Yes Low 7.3 Other Ecosystem Modifications No 2 Agriculture & Aquaculture 8 Invasive & Other Problematic Species & Genes 2.1 Annual & Perennial Non-Timber Crops Yes Medium 8.1 Invasive Non-Native/Alien Species Yes Medium 2.2 Wood & Pulp Plantations Yes Low 8.2 Problematic Native Species No 2.3 Livestock Farming & Ranching Yes Very high 8.3 Introduced Genetic Material Yes Low 2.4 Marine & Freshwater Aquaculture No 9 Pollution 9.1 Household Sewage & Urban Waste 3 Energy Production & Mining Water Yes Low 3.1 Oil & Gas Drilling Yes High 9.2 Industrial & Military Effluents No 3.2 Mining & Quarrying No 9.3 Agricultural & Forestry Effluents Yes Low 3.3 Renewable Energy No 9.4 Garbage & Solid Waste Yes Low 4 Transportation & Service Corridors 9.5 Air-Borne Pollutants No 4.1 Roads & Railroads Yes High 9.6 Excess Energy No 4.2 Utility & Service Lines Yes Very low 10 Geological Events 4.3 Shipping Lanes No 10.1 Volcanoes No 4.4 Flight Paths No 10.2 Earthquakes/Tsunamis No 5 Biological Resource Use 10.3 Avalanches/Landslides No 5.1 Hunting & Collecting Terrestrial Animals Yes Medium 11 Climate Change & Severe Weather 5.2 Gathering Terrestrial Plants Yes Low 11.1 Habitat Shifting & Alteration Yes Medium 5.3 Logging & Wood Harvesting Yes Medium 11.2 Droughts Yes High 5.4 Fishing & Harvesting Aquatic Resources Yes Medium 11.3 Temperature Extremes Yes High 6 Human Intrusions & Disturbance 11.4 Storms & Flooding Yes Medium 6.1 Recreational Activities Yes Low 6.2 War, Civil Unrest & Military Exercises No 6.3 Work & Other Activities No Forest fires are by far the biggest threat for the MBR habitats in terms of potential area affected. In 1998, 2003 and 2005 in coincidence with El Niño events more than 300,000 hectares where affected by fire much of them, more than one time. All fires are caused by human activities, mainly the use of fire to clear land for cattle ranching and agriculture that then escape into the forest. Cattle ranching is the most important cause of deforestation, with a distant second place going to subsistence agriculture. 1 http://cmp-openstandards.org/tools/threats-and-actions-taxonomies/ Some other contextual factors are useful to explain the threats. These include suspected organized crime involvement in activities like land grabbing, money laundering and human trafficking. These activities are connected to areas close to the large common border between México and Guatemala mostly in the Western portion of the MBR that lacks significant institutional and law enforcement presence. More recently there are worries related to the increasing reports of illegal logging of selected wood species (Dalbergia spp mainly) apparently driven by Chinese organized crime groups. Just outside of the reserve, the population of Petèn has ballooned from 25,000 to over 500,000 over 30 years, increasing pressures to increase development of the buffer zone and further into the reserve. References Allen, William (2012). “In the land of the Maya, a battle for a vital forest.” Yale Environment 360. Available at: http://e360.yale.edu/feature/in_the_land_of_the_maya_a_battle_for_a_vital_forest/2580 Rainforest Alliance, CONAP, Wildlife Conservation Society (2015).
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