Advocacy for the ChiquibulFriends of Conservation and Development

Preserving Chiquibul National Park, Belize, Central America

The Chiquibul National Park (cnp)lies within Mesoamerica, a regionhighlighted as a world hot - spot forspecies diversity, and considered criticalfor the preservation of the biodiversityof the Western Hemisphere.I The Chiquibul National Park is

Belize’s largest protected area, withan extension covering 264, 003 acres(106 , 838 ha).

I Besides the Chiquibul NationalPark, this region includes theChiquibul Forest Reserve (147 , 823acres) and the CaracolArchaeological Reserve (25 , 550acres).

I The Chiquibul Forest is home tonumerous rare and endangeredspecies, including Jaguar (Pantheraonca), Ocelot (Felis pardalis),Margay (Felis wiedii), and Scarletmacaw (Ara macao).

I The Chiquibul Forest is facing avariety of anthropogenic pressuresand threats with varying degrees ofintensity.

Key Words: Conservation, Chiquibul,biodiversity, human induce

deforestation, anthropogenic, intrinsicvalue, Mesoamerica, and Caracol.

Threats to biodiversity

I Illegal huntingI Visitor ImpactI Legal and Illegal logging

I Military Impact

I Mining/Oil ExplorationI Looting of Archaeological Sites

The Emblematic Species

I The Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao). The species is classified under Appendix

I of the Convention on InternationalTrade in Endangered Species (cites).

. And they are considered Endangered onthe International Union for theConservation of Nature (iucn) RedList.

I Jaguar (Panthera onca). As of 2002 the Jaguar was declared

Near Threatened and placed onInternational Union for the Conservationof Nature (iucn) Red List.

I Harpy Eagle (Harpija harpyja). This species is classified as Near

Threatened on (iucn) Red List, butalmost regionally extinct in cnp.

. Harpy Eagles’ once thrived in cnp;recently, Harpy Eagles’ have beenreintroduced in cnp but they are stillrare.

ScarletMacaw

Jaguar HarpyEagle

Bats

The subterranean systems is of vital importance for many of the bat speciesthat occur in the Chiquibul forest. These bats and the sensitivity of theirroosts are also one of the main reasons why visitation to these subterraneansystems needs to be considered with great care.

Chiquibul National Park is worth caring about!

I Chiquibul has value. Recreational Value. Intrinsic Value. Cultural Symbolic Value. Genetic Diversity Value. Aesthetic Value

. Market Value

. Life Support Value

. Recreational Value

. Scientific Value

. Religious Value

I We need to recognize the value that is already present.I “To harm nature is to harm ourselves, and to defend earth is self - defence.”

(Næss, 1989)

Management Goal for the Chiquibul National Park

Goal: The Chiquibul National Park functions as a core area of protection ofbiological diversity within the Chiquibul forest and is recognized within theGreater Chiquibul/Maya Mountains Region for its intrinsic natural andcultural values, whilst contributing to national development, regionalsecurity and cooperation, and enhancing and maintaining its ecologicalintegrity.

Our conservation efforts are failing andwe use terms such as “Sustainabledevelopment,” “maximum sustainableyields,” “resource conservation,“ “wiseuse” which are in fact attempts to sugar- coat our ongoing intention to continueto exploit nature for our own, often in-defensible, ends.

c©Friends of Conservation and Development

Negative impacts of human use on Chiquibul National Park

Trail creation (and deterioration) Emissions and air pollutionCamp - sites (and deterioration) Habitat lossCrowding Firewood collectionTracks and recreation vehicles Visual and noise impactsHuman waste problems Impacts on vegetationUser conflicts Soil compaction or erosionCultural vandalism Damage to archaeological sitesTaking souvenirs (flora, fauna, etc) Increased fire riskWater pollution (physical or biological) Litter

c©Jan Meerman

The Chiquibul Forest, like most placesin Belize, is thought to be dominatedwith archeological sites. Most of themajor and minor centers ofarchaeological significance that havebeen mapped in the Chiquibul Forestare located within the CaracolArchaeological Reserve (car) and thenorthern and central part of theChiquibul Forest Reserve, with a fewsites in the western Chiquibul NationalPark South of the car.

Within the Chiquibul National Forestlies the Chiquibul Cave System (ccs),the longest and largest known networkof caves in Central America. Over 55km of passages have been mapped andsurveyed, including the largest knownpassage and cave room in the WesternHemisphere. The ccs is a crossboundary feature as a small sectionreaches into Guatemala. The ccs, dueto its extent and integrity representsone of those unique and prestigiouscultural features worthy of nationalimportance.

We must work together to ensure thatour society, in the post - industrial era,is functioning in such a manner thatprotects our Earth. We have not beenacting in an ethical manner. We mustaccept our responsibility of living as anintegral part of an ecosystem.

Tourism and Recreation Use

Tourism use within the Chiquibul Forest reserve (cfr) has been largelylimited to the Caracol archaeological site, which is accessed by anall-weather road through the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve (the final6 kilometers stretch of this access road within the car is paved). There isalso the occasional hiker/trekker and spelunker. The two other well-knownbut less-visited tourism destinations in the area include the caves at LasCuevas and the Natural Arch, both located within the cfr. Las Cuevas isaccessible year-round, except during the height of the rainy season due tothe current conditions of the access dirt road. The Natural Arch hasrecently not been accessible to regular 4X4 vehicles due to severe roadconditions, which have been worsened due to constant use by heavyequipment from mining operations.

6 http://www.fcdbelize.org/ � fcd@btl.net : Friends of Conservation and Development