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| Tapirus bairdii |
Belize has announced it will protect the Maya Wildlife Corridor that connects the Maya Mountains in southern Belize to the Maya lowlands shared by Belize, Guatemala and Mexico in the north. The twelve mile long, four mile wide corridor will create the largest continuous region of neotropical forest in Central America. That is good news for the iconic jaguar as well as the endangered spider monkey, river turtle, and tapir
[photo credit: N. Hawkins] Beyond the announcement, work needs to be done acquiring private land in the corridor; sixty-five percent of which has been lost to sugar cane
plantation and other agriculture. NGO partners will help raise funds for
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| Panthera onca |
acquisitions and provide technical support. Once the forest is secured steps will be taken to insure large-scale agriculture does not continue to expand endangering needed habitat, and that local human communities benefit from the corridor management plan. A spokesman for the Wildlife Conservation Society said "the Belize government is stepping up for all of humanity by keeping this globally important forest intact”.
GREEN KUDOS once again* to Belize!
*Belize held a referendum in the recent past in which the citizens voted to protect its entire Carribean barrier reef from oil exploration, second in size only to Australia's dying Great Barrier Reef. {22.04.13}
