The Programme for Belize is a private initiative, the first project undertaken in 1988. Financial and management assistance was generously given by the Massachusetts Audubon Society. After the project was identified and started, loans were provided by the

Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Natu ...

and donations provided by the World Land Trust. The goal of the project was to purchase and protect

tropical rainforest Tropical rainforests are rainforests that occur in areas of tropical rainforest climate in which there is no dry season – all months have an average precipitation of at least 60 mm – and may also be referred to as ''lowland equatori ...

s in

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

to prevent them from being sold and cleared to make way for ranching. The project (and also the Trust) was launched at the

London Butterfly House The London Butterfly House was a visitor attraction in Brentford, Middlesex, England where the public could view butterfly, butterflies, birds, reptiles, amphibians, insects, and arachnids. Set in Syon Park, the grounds of Syon House, the facili ...

in May 1989. The famous naturalists

Gerald Durrell Gerald Malcolm Durrell, (7 January 1925 – 30 January 1995) was a British naturalist, writer, zookeeper, conservationist, and television presenter. He founded the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and the Jersey Zoo on the Channel Island ...

and his wife Lee Durrell were guests of honour, and also visited Belize in 1989 to help with

in-situ conservation ''In-situ'' conservation is the on-site conservation or the conservation of genetic resources in natural populations of plant or animal species, such as forest genetic resources in natural populations of Teagan species. This process protects th ...

efforts there. By 1996, more than of land had been purchased and was under the ownership and protection of PfB. The World Land Trust then initiated Friends of Belize to help raise funds to cover costs of continuing protection of the purchased lands, as well as to aid in-situ conservation efforts. Since 2006 World Land Trust has organised regular symposia for the decision-makers of their project partners, and in 2008 PfB hosted the event at their La Milpa ecolodge. The current executive director of Programme for Belize is Edilberto Romero.

Activities

The Programme for Belize has established a protection programme of twelve rangers for the

Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area The Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area is a nature reserve located in northwestern Belize. Rio Bravo, as it is known, was established by Programme for Belize in 1988 with the purchase of 110,044 acres (44,533.2 hectares) of land from Gallo ...

that protect three of the major entrances and patrol the boundaries of the reserve. The Rio Bravo area, roughly 4% of Belize's total land area, is 262,000 of tropical forest in the northern part of Belize and includes facilities for visitors and researchers. In April 2022, PfB received a grant of $150,000 from the environmental organization, Global Conservation, to support the protection and patrolling of the Greater Belize Maya Forest, which composes roughly 10% of the total land area of Belize. The Greater Belize Maya Forest conservation project is supported by numerous other conservation and environmental groups including the

University of Belize The University of Belize (UB) is an English-speaking multi-locational institute for higher education, and the national university of Belize. The institution offers certificates, diplomas, associate degrees, bachelor's degrees, and a graduate degre ...

's Environmental Research Institute, the

Cornell Lab of Ornithology The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is a member-supported unit of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, which studies birds and other wildlife. It is housed in the Imogene Powers Johnson Center for Birds and Biodiversity in Sapsucker Woods Sanctuar ...

, and the

Rainforest Trust Rainforest Trust is a US-based nonprofit environmental organization focused on the purchase and protection of tropical lands to strategically conserve threatened species. Founded in 1988, Rainforest Trust was formerly known as World Parks Endowm ...

, among others.

Activities

References

See also