MAYA MOUNTAIN NORTH FOREST RESERVE

Maya Mountain North Forest Reserve is a multiple use protected area; site of Belize’s first community agroforestry concession

Ya’axché took over co-management of this reserve in 2015 in an effort to decrease illegal incursions, restore degraded lands and to ensure responsible and legal community access to the forest reserve.

Connecting to Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary and Bladen Nature Reserve, the Maya Mountain North Forest Reserve shares much of the high biodiversity of its neighbors’ but faces much greater levels of disturbance such as wildfire, overhunting, agricultural expansion, illegal logging and incursions. As a Forest Reserve, sustainable extraction of forest products is permitted and has allowed Belize’s first agroforestry concession. The concession allows for forest restoration, decreases forest loss and strengthens the livelihoods of the communities. This also provides habitat for wildlife by preserving the forest cover and maximizing the use of the land to benefit both humans and animals.

Monkey River | Scarlet Macaw

The MMNFR, along with the Bladen Nature Reserve and Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, form the Monkey River Watershed-Trio branch joins to Bladen branch which supplies water to thousands of Belizeans and the commercial banana industry. This underlines the need for curbing deforestation in the area and provides the impetus for the ground-breaking development of Belize’s first agroforestry concession. This concession permits shade grown cacao in an agroforestry system and provides the economic incentive necessary to curb illegal slash and burn agriculture.

QUICK FACTS ABOUT MAYA MOUNTAIN NORTH FOREST RESERVE

Size of Protected Area
36,000 Acres

Species found in Protected Area
Scarlet Macaw, jaguar, Yucatan Black Howler Monkey, Baird’s Tapir

Sustainably grown crops
Cacao & Coffee-based agroforestry

Ecosystems found in Protected Area
17 Ecosystems

DON’Ts in Protected Area
Extraction without a permit, this includes Agriculture, Hunting, Logging and use of fire and entry without permit

DOs in Protected Area
Sustainable planned extraction timber and non-timber forest products, agroforestry, Education, Eco-Tourism, science research and monitoring

Threats to Protected Area

Wildfire, agricultural expansion, Illegal cattle ranching, illegal logging, and hunting

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