Science Program - Ya'axché Conservation Trust

Ya’axché’s research and monitoring started in 2006 and transformed into the Science program in 2022 to strengthen and fortify the work of the Community Outreach and Livelihoods and Protected Areas Management programs.

Within
protected areas, agroforestry farms and ecosystems across the Maya Golden Landscape (MGL), Ya’axché’s Biodiversity Research and Monitoring team collects data on large mammals, birds, freshwater invertebrates, bees, and trees. The data collected helps to detect changes in biodiversity health over time, maintain the integrity of vital ecosystems, and promote human- wildlife co-existence. The information directly benefits communities buffering Bladen Nature Reserve (BNR), Maya Mountain North Forest Reserve (MMNFR) and the Golden Stream Corridor Preserve (GSCP). The collected data guides management decisions, advances science-based knowledge, and supports national policy.

01. Camera Trapping

Camera trapping is a non-invasive survey method for monitoring wildlife. Animals captured in photos and videos include predators, prey, various birds, and reptiles. Since 2016, Ya’axché has deployed camera traps in protected areas and cacao-based agroforestry farms working with farmers as citizen scientists across the MGL for both the dry and wet seasons. The 5 wild cats of Belize: jaguars, pumas, ocelots, jaguarundis, and margays have been documented, as well as endangered and rare species such as tapirs, keel-billed toucans, and kinkajous. Common game species like collared and white-lipped peccaries, paca, white-tailed and red-brocket deer, armadillos, and curassows are also present in these ecosystems. The results of these surveys provide evidence that forest species are using agroforestry farms as habitats similar to those of protected areas.

02. Freshwater Monitoring

The Ya’axché team conducts water quality monitoring across four major watersheds in the MGL: Monkey River, Deep River, Golden Stream, and the Rio Grande. Our assessments examine the physio-chemical and biological health of the watersheds, which are indicators of overall ecosystem health. Communities rely on healthy watersheds as a source for drinking, fishing, domestic and agricultural use. Monitoring water quality helps detect changes resulting from deforestation, mineral extraction, and intensive agricultural practices that impact the landscape. The results provide early warnings of emerging environmental issues and guide scientifically informed actions to protect our freshwater resources.

03. Tree Monitoring

Tree research began in 2012 with the goal of understanding the life cycle of the critically endangered Honduran rosewood. Over the years, this initiative has evolved into a research program focused on sustainable harvest of timber species, policy and advocacy for endangered tree species, landscape restoration, and monitoring of forest structure. Ya’axché has emerged as a national leader in threatened trees research and advocacy. Insights from our research are shared with other forest managers and used to sustainably manage extraction of nontimber forest products within the Golden Stream Corridor Preserve.

04. The Human-Jaguar Conflict Sub-Program

In 2017, Ya’axché began working with livestock farmers who were experiencing livestock loss from predator attacks, particularly from jaguars. The farmers participated in a pilot program which introduced mitigation measures, such as fox lights and cowbells, on their farms to prevent jaguar attacks. Today, the effectiveness of these mitigation measures allow farmers to coexist with jaguars on model ‘Jaguar-Friendly Farms’. Wildlife monitoring, via camera trap surveys, in the proximity of jaguar-friendly farms helps us to better understand the abundance and patterns of species in a disturbed landscape, with an emphasis on jaguar activity.