Maya Biosphere Landscape

At over two million hectares, the Maya Biosphere Reserve is Mesoamerica's largest protected area, and has been internationally recognized as both a "Hotspot" for biodiversity, and as a "Last Wild Place".  The Reserve hosts one of the world's highest concentrations of endemic species, and retains an intact suite of wide-ranging mammal and bird species extirpated in most of Mesoamerica. It is the largest and most intact portion of the Maya Forest that spans Guatemala, Belize, and Mexico, and is the most important segment of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor, a centerpiece of the sustainable development strategy of the entire region. Furthermore, beneath the canopy of this subtropical moist forest lies the heart of the ancient Maya civilization.

The Maya Biosphere Reserve (MBR) was established in 1990 to conserve these biological and cultural wonders while improving the livelihoods of local inhabitants.  Despite establishment of specific zones for biodiversity protection, regulated multiple-use, and economic development, several factors threaten the integrity of the MBR. Forest cover has rapidly diminished especially in the western third of the Reserve where forest fires, illegal settlements, and agricultural conversion have run largely unchecked. This has isolated Sierra del Lacand"n National Park in the west from the large, nearly intact block of forest in the central and eastern two-thirds of the MBR. Even where forest cover is intact, exploitation of wild species and since 1990, significant support has been provided for the conservation and development of the Maya Biosphere Reserve by USAID and international NGOs (TNC, CI, WWF, Rodale Institute, CATIE and WCS). Most conservation efforts have concentrated on western core protected zones of the MBR, while a majority of the investments in the multiple-use area have focused on increasing the economic productivity of forest concessions co-administered by community groups in conjunction with CONAP. Previous USAID and NGO support has laid the groundwork for effective conservation and development efforts in the region.

In line with the purpose of the Maya Biosphere Reserve, the overall goal of this project is "To conserve wildlife species and their habitat in the Maya Biosphere Reserve while maintaining the economic productivity of renewable natural resources". Conservation interventions are designed to maintain the integrity of the most intact sections of the MBR while maximizing the participation of local community groups in natural resource management. More specifically, conservation activities will: (a) use the landscape species approach to design a strategy for the MBR that conserves wildlife across diverse habitats and management zones, focusing particularly on the multiple-use forest concessions; (b) strengthen the institutional capacity of CONAP to manage biodiversity, develop and monitor adherence to community forest concession zoning plans, and strengthen the protection of important biological elements in the Reserve; and (c) train and assist community members to manage and monitor threatened species and key economic resources within forest concessions. Lessons learned from the project will orient future conservation and development activities and contribute to the maintenance of the forest's biodiversity and economic productivity.

To learn more, please visit the WCS-Guatemala website.