Who says humans and nature can’t peacefully coexist?

One of the biggest questions we face in Belize and the Central American region is how to continue developing and raising the standard of living for people while at the same time protecting our precious natural environment.

It’s tricky, but, as they say, where there’s a will there’s a way, and one of the ways recently put in place was the establishment of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor (MBC). Established in 1998, the MBC is a huge protected habitat corridor that stretches from Mexico all the way through Central America. Originally started as a way to keep some 106 endangered species from going extinct, it has grown in size and purpose over the years, with many groups and individuals joining in.

It’s now one of the most important conservation projects on the planet, protecting a number of eco systems and species from human interference and establishing corridors for wildlife to move through, thus ensuring their survival and genetic health.

Think about it – by allowing wildlife to move around and breed as they did before we started chopping up their habitats and migration paths with farms, fences, roads and towns, we help ensure their continued evolution and survival.

The Central Belize Corridor links the Rio Bravo, Gallon Jug and Yalbac areas with the Maya Mountains in the South, and is part of the bigger link through Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and thus the entire Mesoamerican Biological Corridor.

Here at Chaa Creek, where harmonising the relationship between people and nature through education has always been one of our goals, we were happy to hear that a special task force met May 9^th 2013 at the Belize Zoo to develop a Conservation Action Plan, or CAP, for the Central Belize Corridor, which is part the overall MBC.

The task force is composed of a number of people with different skills and perspectives representing a range of stakeholders from government and private sectors.

Take, as one example, efforts to preserve the numbers and health of Belize’s beautiful big cats, or tigres, in local parlance.

One contributor to the CAP is Doctor Rebecca Foster, Director of the Jaguar Program for Panthera in Belize, who is concerned that, “Fragmented populations in species lead to fertility issues and a general reduction of resistance to diseases along with other problems.” She also said that, “If a small population is very isolated and gets wiped out by natural disaster like a hurricane, a fire or flood or by disease then animals can’t get to repopulate the area so that area is effectively dead now, there are no animals there and no way to re-colonize it…”

Her concern was echoed by Caldia Buth, a Ph. D student from Virginia Tech in the U.S, who is looking at the genetic flow of cat species in Belize and who believes that species from the northern forests of Belize need to continue interbreeding with their southern cousins to stay healthy.

And in addition we have Lisel Alamilla, Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and Sustainable Development, representing the Government of Belize, who in July 2010 contributed to corridor connectivity by declaring the Laboring Creek Jaguar Corridor a Wildlife Sanctuary.

“My Ministry subscribes to ensuring that we have preventative samples of our ecosystem within our protected area system and there is genetic flow of both flora and fauna within… the system we have established,” Minister Alamilla said at the launch.

This is just one example, and on one issue, of the range of individuals and organisations from various sectors working together on the CAP to achieve something important.

And it’s a matter of urgency.

“…All the data that has been collected for Belize recently in terms of forest cover and how fast we are losing forest cover indicates that probably within a decade we are to lose this corridor,” Doctor Elma Kay, the Terrestrial Science Director from the Environmental Research Institute (ERI) at the University of Belize said.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that something is being done to prevent it.

Doctor Wendel Parham, Chief Executive Officer within the Ministry of Forestry, Fisheries and Sustainable Development praised the activities of the task force and the efforts to bring large land owners, agriculturalists, conservation groups and others together.

“This to me is a great step of trying to bring together a multi-stakeholder group to look at focusing on this corridor so that we can bring some balance to what is happening and to maintain the all-important corridor”, he said.

The CAP team said they hope to have five to eight consultations within the coming months and conduct presentations within various communities to encourage them to select representatives to be part of the national consultations and help in developing strategies and setting targets.

And this is not just a local initiative.  The German Corporation Agency GIZ, or the Deutshe Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbelt was instrumental in getting the Conservation Action Plan for the Central Biological Corridor off the ground, joining our friends at the Belize Zoo and Tropical Education Centre, the University of Belize, Belize’s Forest department and others.

Here at Chaa Creek and within our Belize Natural History Centre we’re encouraged by these efforts and will continue reporting on the development of the CAP and indeed the entire Mesoamerican Biological Corridor. We’ve always believed that intelligent, sane development is possible – if we all put our minds to it.

At our own Natural History Centre we have seen time and time again what happens when people learn about Belize’s amazingly diverse and varied ecosystems and our rich Maya heritage – they come to appreciate both the beauty and the fragility of what we have been blessed with, and this leads to an urge to protect it.

Throughout history humankind has made some grievous errors in regards to the environment, but as we see, there have also been tremendous efforts to rectify these mistakes and even go further in preserving the environment. Let’s keep working toward the latter.

If you have any comments about this article or wish to contribute information or ideas, we welcome your input.  Feel free to email Mark at langanbelize@hotmail.com. While we can’t answer every letter, rest assured that they are all read and appreciated.                                          

In 1981, the Chaa Creek Experience was created by owners Mick and Lucy Fleming.  This young couple were traveling through Belize in 1977 and met the owner of an overgrown 140 acre farm on the Macal River in the Cayo District.  Soon, they moved to this property and before long, they were living off the land.  They started to outgrow their small farm with more than home grown vegetables.  The Flemings welcomed two children, and then guests, and the word spread….more travelers who heard about the farm, wanted to come visit and stay.

Inspired by the rich Belize culture and respect for diverse ecology, they pioneered sustainable, nature based tourism with Belize’s first jungle lodge.  At the base of the Maya mountains, and in the heart of the rainforest, they have grown 365 acres of a private nature reserve into an award winning Belizean Rainforest eco lodge – Chaa Creek Lodge.

“Wildly Civilized” is their tagline and sums up their philosophy of how adventure travel can coexist with nature.  For the past 30 years, they have set their roots in Belize, lived their dream, shared their passion. Mick and Lucy care.  They live what they believe.

The result?  With a team of 130 local Belizean professionals, they share their labor of love at Chaa Creek where their guests can enjoy the natural beauty and adventure of the jungle with the comforts of home.

Chaa Creek Lodge and its “Wildly Civilized” approach to adventure travel has been highly recognized throughout the World.  In the Reception area, a wall displays numerous awards that are a testament to The Flemings.  They raise the bar in the Caribbean region as one of the best examples of sustainable ecotourism.

Recognized by Conde Nast Magazine, Travel and Leisure Magazine as “Top Ten International Eco-Escape“, and Trip Advisor “World’s Top Hotels & Resorts“, rated the “Top Belize Resort” by the Belize Tourism Board, and “Best Adventure Destination for 2012” by National Geographic Adventure Magazine, rated by Caribbean Travel & Life Readers’ Poll as the “Best Eco Resort & Hotel” in the Caribbean for four years running.

After checking in, we were escorted to our cottage and excited to have the Chaa Creek Experience.  The trails are lined with lush vegetation and some of the tallest trees I’ve ever seen.  Hearing the howler monkeys and birds along the way to your jungle home is magical.  Listen to the soundtrack of jungle noises on the Chaa Creek website at:  www.chaacreek.com .

How are the Accommodations?

The family owned Chaa Creek Lodge focuses on comfort and wants their guests to have a good night’s slumber.  There are 23 palm thatched cottage rooms to choose from - Complete Garden Suite, an Orchard and Spa Villa, Macal Cottage or Tree Top Suite.

For guests who want a off-the beaten-track experience, you can opt to stay in the inexpensive Camp Casita Package, and have the ultimate jungle experience in one of the small bungalows that stand on raised platforms with airy peak-roofs.

How’s the Cuisine?

Chaa Creek provides many options for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  For breakfast, you can have local Belize food with freshly made corn tortillas,  black beans, eggs and salsa, or banana pancakes.  You can either choose lunch and/or snacks at the Bar.  We loved the Salbutes, a Belize staple – fried corn tortillas with chicken, onions on top.

For dinner, we enjoyed fresh vegetables from Chaa Creek’s organic garden, and Chef Mario Alejandro Mendez prepared an Argentinian Chimichurri sauce to marinate local meat and then grilled it to perfection.  The flavors were amazing!

Chaa Creek Activities Concierge

So much to do at Chaa Creek….whether you are alone, with friends, family, children, there’s something for everyone!  Chaa Creek has an Activities Concierge onsite to help you customize your eco tours and adventure activities that cater to all ages and interests.

Horseback Riding

Chaa Creek has its own stable with well groomed horses.  Our guide Hilberto helped Jen and her 4 yr old daughter Cora, and myself mount our horses “Cinnamon”, “Chicita”, and “Romeo”, and led us on the reserve’s trails up to the highest point at Chaa Creek where a few of the 70 unexcavated ancient Maya archaeological sites on the reserve have been located.

Hilltop Spa at Chaa Creek  check in at the Hilltop Spa at Chaa Creek set above the Macal River with a spectacular view of the mountains and rainforest.  Bryony Fleming, Spa Owner, oversees a trained staff of professional therapists.  There are many treatments to pamper you including one of the most popular massages called ”The Coma”….90 minutes of relaxation!  You can have your massage outside in a peaceful setting where you can listen to tropical birds sing and feel the Caribbean breeze – jungle luxury at its finest!

Enjoy the Infinite Pool - you can relax at the Lodge’s infinite pool that overlooks the Chaa Creek landscape.

Creature Night Walk – search for tarantulas and other crawling critters and possibly a jaguar sighting on a night walk with naturalist guide Allan Chan.

Early Morning Bird Watch - join naturalist guide Allan on nature walks along miles of trails where over 300 species of tropical and migratory birds have been recorded.  We listened to the birds wake up the rainforest with their morning songs, and spotted toucans, parrots, hummingbirds, woodpeckers, chachalacas.

Onsite Natural History Museum Center, Butterfly Farm and Rainforest Mayan Medicine Trail - take some time to visit the onsite museum, and the Butterfly Farm where you can see the beautiful iridescent Blue Morpho peleides, known as Belizean Blue butterflies.  Walk the Rainforest Medicine Trail dedicated to Don Elijio Panti, who died at 103 yrs old.  Don was a traditional healer and regarded as the last Maya Shaman, master healer of Belize.  Dr. Rosita Arvigo documented every ancient herbal remedy he shared, that has attracted modern medical scientists around the globe.  Don’s efforts have provided over 500 plants for cancer and AIDS testing and research.

Enjoy the Chaa Creek Lodge pathways and lush vegetation, and visit the onsite organic farm.

Reservations:

Visit:  www.ChaaCreek.com
Email: reservations@chaacreek.com

Tel: 501-824-2037
US Toll Free Tel: 1-(877) 709-8708
UK Local Tel: 0-207 096-0329

Other Destinations in Belize:

Chaa Creek partners with premier tour & excursion providers throughout Belize and at island resorts like Ambergris Caye, Placencia and other Caribbean vacation destinations.  Chaa Creek can work with you to plan the ultimate, all inclusive Belize beach and rainforest vacation packages.

Chaa Creek Cares 

To keep Belize green, Chaa Creek’s motto is“We Reduce, Re-use & Recycle!”

Mick and Lucy recognize the need to protect the “vibrant yet fragile” ecosystem that surround them, and take precautions to be sensitive with construction, materials, and find creative ways to recycle, and minimize impact on the environment.

They actively promote sustainable, socially responsible tourism practices and encourage cultural exchange.

The Flemings assure guests that “10% of all room revenue goes directly into environmental, educational and community programs, and in supporting worthy groups and causes. This and other initiatives under our long running Chaa Creek Cares program ensure that your stay provides tangible benefits to Belize and Belizeans.”

Source: http://globaladventuress.com/

The assistant manager of the Belize Natural History Centre (NHC) said that while worldwide condemnation and anger surrounding last week’s destruction of the ancient Maya pyramid at Nohmul in northern Belize is understandable and even healthy, the time has come to move on to finding solutions to prevent a repeat of the tragedy.

Brion Young, who is also a naturalist guide at The Lodge at Chaa Creek, which sponsors the NHC, said he believes that education is the key to preserving Belize’s rich Maya heritage.

“It’s only natural that all Belizeans are incensed with this wanton destruction of our Maya heritage. Our children’s children and literally millions of future visitors to Belize have been robbed of the chance to experience a magnificent part of Belize’s past.

“However, we now need to move on to developing solutions and putting systems in place to ensure this never happens again,” Mr Young said, “and education is the key to this. That’s something that Chaa Creek and the NHC has always promoted, and we’ll be ramping up our efforts in this area.”

Mr Young said that the NHC was founded as a way to showcase the natural and cultural history of this tiny Central American country on the Caribbean Sea as well as display some of the many Maya artefacts found in the Chaa Creek area, which was a major agricultural and trade centre for the ancient Maya.

Since its beginning, the NHC has grown to become a highly regarded educational resource to Belizean students as well as tourists.

“We have always believed that the more people are exposed to Belize’s Maya culture, the more they will appreciate it, and understand the importance of preserving the relics left behind by one of the most advanced societies in all of antiquity.

“One visit to the nearby pyramid of Xunantunich or the royal palace at Cahal Pech in San Ignacio, and visitors understand why we are so zealous in preserving what’s left of the Mundo Maya,” Mr Young said.

The Mundo Maya, or Maya World, refers to the realm of the ancient Maya, which encompasses all of Belize and parts of Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras and El Salvador. The area contains thousands of artefacts and vestiges of the ancient Maya, from huge cities, such as Caracol in Belize and Tikal in Guatemala, to small remote ceremonial centres tucked away in the region’s vast jungles.

The recent damage to Nohmul highlighted the fact that looting and destruction continues to occur throughout the Mundo Maya, despite the efforts of archaeologists and organisations to protect it.

Mr Young said that while some of it is deliberate, much of the destruction is due to ignorance.

“If people understood how precious these Maya artefacts are, and what they mean to us and future generations, they would be more likely refrain from and to report abuse when they see it,” he said.

Mr Young said that Chaa Creek will continue to reach out to schools and the community through programs such as the free annual Eco Kids Summer Camp, a nine day program that has a strong Maya culture component, and will continue to make the NHC and their guides available to schools.

“Rather than just bemoan the loss of this majestic example of Belize’s past, it’s up to all of us to work that much harder to let people know what’s at stake here.

“The Spanish Conquistadores destroyed entire libraries and so many works of art created by this magnificent culture. Let’s not be guilty of standing by while the same crimes against history are committed,” Mr Young said.

We Need to save the earth! Our environment is precious and without it we wouldn’t be alive. Plants and animals need us and we need them. We have an ecological relationship with each other. But the problem is that we are releasing more carbon than we could even imagine. Such as burning petroleum, gas and using factories that release it into the atmosphere, even our carbon footprints. A carbon footprint is the measure of the amount of greenhouse gases, measured in units of carbon dioxide, produced by human activities. A carbon footprint can be measured for an individual or an organization, and is typically given in tons of CO2-equivalent (CO2-cq) per year.

Think, for 1 gallon of gasoline the car burns that’s 19 pounds of carbon dioxide, so if your family drives a car 1,000 miles for 1 month that’s 240,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide released.

Also that’s 120 additional tons of carbon dioxide; multiply that by every car in the world…that’s a lot of carbon dioxide. If that is released into the atmosphere, it will cause smog and acid rain. If you want to know how acid rain works try this: put 2 plants in the same amount of sunlight and give them the same amount of water. In 1 plant drop a few teaspoons of vinegar. Leave for a week and check them. The one you put in vinegar it will grow slowly and eventually dies. That’s because of the amount of acid the vinegar has.

Pollution will also destroy our majestic earth. It is what makes our allergies worst. So we should reduce, recycle and reuse. This is what I do by turning off our room light when we don’t need them, use little water. I love animals. In our home I save little animals trapped and I enthusiastically encourage my little brothers and sisters to help and save the little pollinators and insects. I love playing with cats, dogs, birds and fishes; I love nature. I’ll do anything to stop global warming that causes the melting of the ice caps.

That’s why I should be an eco-kid at your camp so I can learn more ways to better my environment.

The above essay is for our Eco Kids Summer Camp competition. To learn more about the program, click here: Chaa Creek Eck Kids Summer Camp 2013

“This is an obscene act that needs to be condemned in the strongest possible terms,” Chaa Creek proprietor Mick Fleming said today.

Mr Fleming was responding to news that one of Belize’s largest Maya pyramids has been destroyed with backhoes and bulldozers in order to generate crushed rock for a road-building project.

“Who in their right mind would deliberately destroy a structure that was created thousands of years ago, using the most primitive tools to build something of such complexity and beauty? This is a part of not only Belize’s, but the world’s cultural heritage, and it has been demolished for road fill. And in a country where we have no end of suitable material just laying around,” he said.

Mr Fleming’s remarks echoed those of Jaime Awe, a world renowned archaeologist and Mayanist who is the director of the Belize Institute of Archaeology. Dr Awe said the ancient Maya ceremonial centre of Nohmul in northern Belize dates back at least 2,300 years and is one of the most important sites in Belize. He said news of the destruction was heartbreaking.

“It’s a feeling of Incredible disbelief because of the ignorance and the insensitivity … they were using this for road fill,” Awe said. “It’s like being punched in the stomach, it’s just so horrendous,” Dr Awe said.

“To think that today we have modern equipment, that you can go and excavate in a quarry anywhere, but that this company would completely disregard that and completely destroyed this building. It’s mind-boggling.”

The Nohmul complex is located in a privately owned sugar cane field, but like all pre-Hispanic structures in Belize is protected by law. Dr Awe said the builders could not possibly have mistaken the pyramid mound, which is about 100 feet tall. “These guys knew that this was an ancient structure. It’s just bloody laziness,” Dr Awe said.

A construction company said to be owned by a well-known Belizean politician is being investigated.

Francisco Estrada-Belli, a professor at Tulane University’s Anthropology Department, said “Unfortunately, this destruction of our heritage is irreversible but many don’t take it seriously,” he added that, “The only way to stop it is by showing that it is a major crime and people can and will go to jail for it.”

Belize is not the only country where such crimes occur. The ancient Maya civilisation spread across what is known as the Mundo Maya, or Maya World, that encompasses all of present day Belize and parts of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. They were prolific builders with cities, such as Caracol in Belize that boasted populations of well over 100,000 and left behind vast areas of structures. Unfortunately, many of these buildings continue to be looted and destroyed.

“I don’t think I am exaggerating if I say that every day a Maya mound is being destroyed for construction in one of the countries where the Maya lived,” Prof Estrada-Belli said.

The Lodge at Chaa Creek is home to the Belize Natural History Centre, which Mr Fleming said promotes ecological and cultural conservation through education.

“We believe that the best way to protect Belize’s natural and cultural treasures is to expose people to their beauty and magnificence. If people understand and appreciate the amazing achievements of our ancient Maya inhabitants, they would be as appalled at this sort of destruction as we are.

“We only hope that this serves as a wakeup call to how precious Belize’s cultural heritage is, and how important it is to protect it,” Mr Fleming said.