International Nature Conservation

Nature Conservation 5/2009 — 21. 10. 2009 — International Nature Conservation — Print article in pdf

Protected Areas in Belize

authors: Oldřich Kopecký, Magdaléna Kopecká

When travelling in Central America, visitorsinteresting in nature should not omit Belize, situated on the eastern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula.

More than 40 % of the country’s territory is protected and protected areas include all main habitat types, from dry grasslands in the north to tropical rainforests in the south. The Crooked Tree established in 1984 is the oldest Wildlife Sanctuary in Belize. The area aiming at the Jabiru (Jabiru mycteria) protection is covered mainly by freshwater lagoons and has also been protected under the Ramsar Convention. The Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary attracts most visitors in the dry season (January to May) when high numbers of birds, both resident/sedentary and migratory ones, are concentrated on drying lagoons. Moreover, the area hosts a plenty of other remarkable animals, e.g.the Green Iguana (Iguana iguana), Morele’s or Mexican Crocodile (Crocodylus moreletii) or the Guatemalan Black Howler (Alouatta pigra), the latter also known as the Yucatan Black Howler. Therefore, a visit to the protected area as well as to the whole country is highly recommended by the authors.