Maya Mountain Marine Corridor

Maya Mountain Marine Corridor
© Dan Campbell/ TNC

Belize's Maya Mountain Marine Corridor (MMMC) hosts one of the world's richest assemblages of biodiversity. A million-acre landscape of protected areas that links the crest of the Maya Mountains to the Meso-American Reef, MMMC is home to more than 220 tree species and 350 species of birds. Integrating The Nature Conservancy's Ridges to Reefs® conservation approach, this constellation of protected areas encompasses exemplary tropical rain forests and pine savannas, seven intact watersheds, coastal wetlands and mangrove forests, spectacular coral reefs and more than 100 offshore cays.

Location
Extending from the crest of the Maya Mountains in southwestern Belize, east to the Caribbean Sea, the corridor is composed of a patchwork of protected areas, including Bladen Nature Reserve, Maya Mountain Forest Reserve, Payne's Creek National Park, Port Honduras Marine Reserve and Sapodilla Cayes Marine Reserve.

Animals

Butterfly in Port Honduras Marine Reserve

Jaguars
Crocodiles
West Indian manatees
Lobsters
Conch
Scarlet macaws
Parrots

Plants

Orchids
Mahogany
Tropical rain forests
Pine savannas
Mangrove forests

Why the Conservancy Works Here
In the Maya Mountain Marine Corridor, The Nature Conservancy is able to focus on the entire landscape, from the ridges of the Maya Mountains to the reefs of the Meso-American Barrier Reef. As a connected ecosystem, we can help protect endangered marine environments by guarding against agricultural runoff that originates in the mountains and reaches the sea through rivers and streams.

What the Conservancy Is Doing

Lying at the foot of the Maya Mountain Marine Corridor, Port Honduras was recently designated a marine reserve by the government of Belize, which chose the Toledo Institute for Development and Environment (TIDE) to manage the reserve. The coastal forests, rivers and coral cays of Port Honduras harbor manatees, lobsters, conch, commercial fish stock, parrots, orchids, and mahogany - all susceptible to illegal poaching. Since TIDE's rangers began patrolling the exploited area, manatee slaughters have been markedly reduced, an important victory, as Belize hosts the world's second largest population of this species with fewer than 300 animals.
In the southern district of Toledo, The Nature Conservancy is working with TIDE to unify the protection of the corridor. With The Nature Conservancy's assistance, TIDE recently completed a Site Conservation Plan for the MMMC that identified eight conservation targets, including the upland and riparian forests, aquatic communities and coral reefs.
The Conservancy's Ohio Chapter, which shares more than 50 species of migratory birds with Belize, has helped TIDE purchase 4,200 acres of tropical forest along the Rio Grande River.
TIDE is also working with the Conservancy to evaluate and monitor fresh water - one of the main connectors between the ridges of the Maya Mountains and the coastal reef.
Fly fisherman and local guide with permit fish
© Lynda Richardson

The Nature Conservancy has worked with TIDE to successfully introduce saltwater flyfishing and kayak guiding as alternative sources of income in southern Belize. Fishermen who once overfished the local waters are retrained as ecotourism guides, dive guides and rangers who patrol the protected areas and provide environmental education to surrounding communities.
As a result of community consultation, TIDE is also organizing a Net Exchange Program to buy back fish and lobster gill nets from the five percent of fishermen in southern Belize who still use them. These nonselective nets destroy hundreds of sea-bound creatures, only a small percentage of which wind up on the commercial market. With the Net Exchange Program in place, local fishermen will be trained to capture only market-bound species at a sustainable rate, securing catches well into the future and preserving the natural ecosystems of the reserve.