Chiquibul Forest Reserve

The Chiquibul Forest reserve (CFR) lies within Belize'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, on the northwest edge by the Caracol Archaeological Reserve (CAR), and on the north side by the Mountain Pine Ridge. The Chiquibul Forest Reserve along with the Chiquibul Park and the Caracol Archeological Reserve compose the Chiquibul Forest.

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 covers 59,822 hectares. The Chiquibul Forest reserve is the largest managed reserve in Belize.

The reserve is managed for timber products and non-timber forest products. The Chiquibul forest reserve along with the Chiquibul national park are managed by the Belize Defense Force (BDF) and co-managed by Friends for Conservation and Development (DFC). One of the most monitored species in the Chiquibul Forest Reserve is the Scarlet Macaw, which is endangered throughout its range from Mexico to Brazil, including Belize. Xate extraction is also closely monitored in the Chiquibul Forest Reserve.

The primary threat to the flora and fauna that the Chiquibul Forest Reserve faces is poaching, illegal logging, Xate harvesting and other illegal activities, mainly by the Guatemalan communities in close proximity to the reserve. A number of Guatemalan communities 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.

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.

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