Mainstreaming Biodiversity in Belize’s Maya Golden Landscape

The Ya’axche Conservation Trust has joined forces with various stakeholders, including the Government of Belize, the Food and Agriculture Organization and the Global Environmental Facility, to implement a four year project in the Maya Golden Landscape of Toledo District.  This initiative integrates biodiversity conservation, protected areas management and sustainable livelihoods at the landscape level.  Executive Director Christina Garcia tells us more.

 

Christina Garcia, Exec. Dir., Ya’axche Conservation Trust

“It is a project that was formulated four years ago with support from the Government of Belize, particularly the Food and Agriculture Organization and the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Climate Change.  So yesterday, we had a project launch with the government officials and other state actors, just basically outlining hat the project is going to be and the level of support for what is going to be needed by the Food and Agriculture Organization, but also the Government of Belize.  So the project focuses on various aspects and it will be implemented in ten indigenous communities in the Toledo District and it looks at the development of certain plans, particularly for key biodiversity areas that we manage which is the Maya Mountain North Forest Reserve.  We’ll be developing a thorough plan for that area.  We’re encompassing the feedback from stakeholders, particularly the Trio community.  The project also looks at developing a policy guideline for non-timber forest products and this is something that we have going on in the Golden Stream Corridor Preserve for quite a while and so it’s just the formality and making sure that a policy is established, of course with endorsement by the relevant agencies, regulatory agencies such as the National Biodiversity Office and the Forest Department.”