The Chiquibul Forest Reserve (CFR) lies within

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 wa ...

's Greater Mayan Mountains. The Forest Reserve lies adjacent to the Belize-Guatemalan border and as such had been the focus of illegal harvesting of Xate by Guatemalan Xateros. The Chiquibul forest reserve consists of 59,822 hectares. The Chiquibul Forest Reserve is bordered to the southwest, east, and south by the

Chiquibul National Park Chiquibul National Park is Belize's largest national park.Riley, Laura, Riley, William, 2005''Nature's Strongholds: The World's Great Wildlife Reserves'' Princeton University Press, p. 333, . It is in size. The park is located in Belize's Cayo Di ...

, on the northwest edge by the Caracol Archaeological Reserve (CAR), and on the north side by the

Mountain Pine Ridge Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve is a nature reserve in the Cayo District of southern central Belize. It was established in 1944 to protect and manage the native Belizean pine forests. Its boundaries are poorly defined, but it is estimated to co ...

. The Chiquibul Forest Reserve along with the Chiquibul Park and the Caracol Archeological Reserve compose the Chiquibul Forest.

History

The Chiquibul Forest Reserve which lies wholly within the Greater Mayan Mountains of Belize was first designated as a forest reserve in 1956 when it covered an area of 184,925.9 hectares. Part of the reserve was then re-classified as the Chiquibul National Park and the Caracol Archeological Reserve. Since the reclassification in 1991, the Chiquibul Forest Reserve has covered 59,822 hectares. The Chiquibul Forest Reserve is the largest managed reserve in Belize.

Management

The reserve is managed for timber products and

non-timber forest product Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are useful foods, substances, materials and/or commodities obtained from forests other than timber. Harvest ranges from wild collection to farming. They typically include game animals, fur-bearers, nuts, see ...

s. The Chiquibul forest reserve is managed by Bulridge Limited under a long-term forest license issued by the Government of Belize in 2006 with the Belize Forest Department as the regulatory body for sustainable forest management in the reserve. Bulridge Limited, under its long-term forest license, conducts selective logging, as well as silvicultural practices and road maintenance to promote sustainable logging operations within the Chiquibul Forest Reserve.

Threats

The primary threat to the flora and fauna that the Chiquibul Forest Reserve faces is

poaching Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...

illegal logging Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, or from a ...

, harvesting of

Xate Xate (pronounce: shatay are the leaves from three Chamaedorea species of palm tree ( Chamaedorea ernesti-augusti, Chamaedorea elegans, and Chamaedorea oblongata). The fronds are popular in floristry for flower arrangements, Palm Sunday services ...

, and other illegal activities. These activities are performed primarily by residents of a number of Guatemalan communities that lie close to the Belize-Guatemalan border, and have easy access to the reserve. Access to the reserve from the Belizean side is more problematic.

Flora and fauna

The Chiquibul Forest region, including the Chiquibul Forest Reserve, includes seventeen distinct ecosystems which are largely variants of lowland and submontane tropical evergreen broadleaf forests with differing levels of humidity and substrate types. This provides a diversity which habitat for a wide variety of fauna, including many rare species such as jaguar, ocelot, margay, and scarlet macaw. It is estimated the area receives 2,000 mm of rainfall per year and forms part of the Belize River watershed, and riparian areas that support the Baird’s tapir.

References

{{reflist Forest reserves Environment of Belize