Grants, Big Impact To Protected Area System  

A generous hundred-thousand-dollar investment from the Belize Nature Conservation Foundation (BNCF) is set to boost enforcement across four protected areas in Belize. At today’s annual grant award ceremony, two conservation NGOs were each awarded fifty thousand dollars. The lucky Small recipients were the Monkey Bay Wildlife Sanctuary and the Sarteneja Alliance for Conservation and Development. Both organizations plan to use the funds to enhance monitoring and enforcement within their protected areas. News Five’s Paul Lopez has a full story.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

Today, the Belize Nature Conservation Foundation (BNCF) awarded a total of one hundred thousand dollars in grant funding to two conservation organizations. The first recipient is the Monkey Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, a unique organization that blends tourism and conservation across three thousand acres of protected forest land. With accommodation for up to two hundred guests and a variety of tour offerings, the revenue generated is reinvested into environmental education, community outreach, and habitat management.

 

Eli Miller, Managing Director, Monkey Bay Wildlife Sanctuary

“We are managers of two protected areas within the Maya Forest Corridor and we take that responsibility very seriously in terms of enforcement. A lot of the rules were not being respected. So, we are trying to bring that park back from one that tis being respected to being enjoyed by the general public.”

 

This funding will boost their management efforts by enhancing enforcement across the sanctuary and Monkey Bay National Park. The Maya Forest Corridor, located north of the sanctuary, is rapidly being deforested for monocrop expansion. To ensure that the natural habitat in these areas remains a haven for wildlife in the future, enforcement and education are crucial.

 

Eli Miller

“What we are trying to do at Monkey Bay is not directly stop that deforestation, the march of development is almost unstoppable, but we are trying to mitigate the impacts that development has. What we are going to do with this project is acquire a ATV to allow the rapid deployment of the park ranger team to combat illegal infractions, incursions, and also wildfires or whatever the need might be within the corridor for our partners and buffering communities.”

 

The Sarteneja Alliance for Conservation and Development also received a generous fifty thousand dollars in grant funding from the Belize Nature Conservation Foundation. Like the Monkey Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, the alliance is dedicated to research, monitoring, enforcement, and education. However, their primary focus is on Belize’s marine resources, particularly within the expansive seventy-two-thousand-hectare Corozal Wildlife Sanctuary and Bacalar Chico National Park. This fifty-thousand-dollar grant will help establish a permanent enforcement presence within the national park, ensuring these precious marine areas are protected for the future.

 

Samuel Barrett, Development Director, Sarteneja Alliance for Conservation and Development

“We are now at a point where we will be launching a permanent presence by stationing a team of rangers on rolling shift patterns so that we have three hundred and sixty-five days presence within the national park.”

 

Paul Lopez

“What is the biggest threat to the park?”

 

Samuel Barrett

“In collaboration with the stakeholders, their biggest concern is illegal hunting and extraction of forest products like bush sticks, royal palms form the protected areas that are being used in the development of resorts and thinks within northern San Pedro.”

 

Leonardo Chavarria, Chairman of the Belize Nature Conservation Foundation, explains that conservation organizations are chosen to receive these grants through a thorough application process. Applications are carefully vetted and approved if they align with the foundation’s objectives. The Belize Nature Conservation Foundation oversees the annual conservation grant funding provided through the Blue Bond.

 

Leonardo Chavarria, Chairman, BNCF

“Coming from a conservation organization myself, I am from TIDE, so we know the true meaning of small grant. We know the impact these grants can have. So, for me it was specially rewarding and a privilege to be here, because it was a moment we have to actually share, but share in terms of creating a meaningful future impact for the National Protected Area System.”

 

Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez