In 1998 a consortium of community leaders founded the Golden Stream Corridor Preserve “GSCP”, securing a vital wildlife corridor in Belize’s Maya Golden Landscape in the Toledo District from exploitation. The organization signed a 12-year institutional Memorandum of Understanding with Fauna & Flora (F&F), the world’s oldest conservation organization based in Cambridge, UK and received its first one-year grant from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to formalize operations.
In 2002 the GSCP changed its name to Ya’axché Conservation Trust (Ya’axché). This name change achieved greater resonance with the local Maya communities, as ‘Ya’axché’ is the Mopan translation for the Ceiba tree.
Ya’axché has since expanded to bring other key sites under conservation management and to engage with community partners in management of the wider landscape through a sustainable livelihoods programme. Today, Ya’axché is a nationally and internationally recognized leader in conservation and sustainable development.
Timeline
-
1998
Consortium of leaders founded the Golden Stream Corridor Preserve (GSCP) NGO -
1999
Purchased the 1st parcel of GSCP Land and placed under protection -
2000
Secured Funding and Conducted 1st Comprehensive Biodiversity assessment in GSCP
-
2002
Name changed to Ya’axché Conservation Trust (Ya’axchè) -
2005
Purchased the 2nd portion of land resulting in a 15,441-acre GSCP -
2008
Received co-management for the 100,000-acre Bladen Nature Reserve -
2012
Ya’axche awarded with Prestigious Whitley Award -
2014
Established the Ya’axché Institute for Conservation Education -
2014
Developed and established the first ever 936-acre agroforestry concession in the Maya Mountain North Forest Reserve -
2015
Receive co-management for the 36,000-acre Maya Mountain North Forest Reserve -
2015
Adopted Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) to improve ranger patrol effectiveness and efficiency -
2016
Ya’axche rangers began studying biodiversity on agroforestry farms using motion activated field cameras -
2018
Case Study published on the first ever agroforestry concession in MMNFR -
2019
Two new partnership was formed with the Green Creek Farmers’ Cooperative and the Aguacate Conservation and Development Committee -
2019
First set of camera traps deployed in the Maya Mountain North Forest Reserve which captured more than 40 species of wildlife including the 5 cats of Belize
-
2020
Agroforestry Concession is recognized as the 2020 Global Best Practice Model in the world -
2021
Virtual transition of Ya’axché’s major events and activities due to the COVID 19 Pandemic -
2021
Pilot year for the adoption of Remotely Piloted Aerial Systems -
2022
Science became an independent Program -
2022
The cacao agroforestry concession recorded a cumulative production of 207,363 pounds of wet beans -
2022
Ya’axché established its restoration initiatives in the buffer zones of the Maya Mountain North Forest Reserve -
2023
Ya’axché took on management of the 15,000-acre Boden Creek Ecological Preserve