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Scarlet Studios has a stunning new video out for the Friends for Conservation and Development. Beautifully shot, and it has the message that's needed: Protect the Chiquibul! Thanks, FCD, and Scarlet Studios! Now, more than ever, is the time to help the FCD.

They also made a video about the Chiquibul Watershed, and how we all depend on it...and it on us.


The Chiquibul Forest - Friends for Conservation & Development (FCD)

The Chiquibul Forest Reserve along with the Chiquibul Park and the Caracol Archeological Reserve compose the Chiquibul Forest. It is in the south-western region of Belize covering over 423,000 acres of rich tropical forest. This area features some of Belize's most impressive wonders such as the largest cave system in Central America, the Caracol Mayan Site, and a rich biodiversity of plants and wildlife.This vast forest block has been continuously exploited for its natural wealth of resources. Largely by illegal incursions from Guatemala along the western border, targeting the xat� palm, gold, and timber of the forest. Poaching of wildlife for meat or the illegal wildlife, and habitat loss affects much of the iconic wildlife. Through catching massive amounts of rainfall and the winding Chiquibul River, the Chiquibul provides fresh water for over 40% of Belize's population.

It provides life for Belizeans, and critical habitat for important biodiversity in our country, including the severely threatened scarlet macaw.

Fortunately, the Chiquibul is not without protection. For years, Friends for Conservation & Development (FCD) has worked to protect and preserve this invaluable forest. Through management of the Chiquibul's resources, bio-monitoring and study of the system's ecological treasures, and efforts to curb the illegal incursions into the heart of the jungle all serve to protect this vast natural wealth.



The Chiquibul Watershed - PACT 2017 Watershed Alliance

The Chiquibul Watershed is one of Belize's most crucial features, critical in it's role in supplying for the countries growing population through agriculture and providing water and electricity to over 40 % of the country. It is home to much of the iconic wildlife of Belize, who depend just as much on this watershed as society does. However, as much as we depend on the Chiquibul Watershed, it also depends on us to protect it from pollution and over exploitation can harms the quality of the water and the environment for both it's animal and human inhabitants.

Join Friends for Conservation and Development and the PACT bi-annual Watershed Alliance in spreading awareness and protecting this critical resource to Belize's population. To learn more about what you can do to protect our water resources, visit us online at:

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An expedition in Belize to explore and photograph a rediscovered sinkhole in the Chiquibul forest reveals a truth Belizeans must accept and act on.

Guardian of the Chiquibul

Three kilometers east of the Guatemala border, the forest fell silent.

Four hours earlier we had left Tapir Camp - the entrance to the Chiquibul forest - via a newly cut trail off the Caracol Road, to trek to the Cebada region of the Chiquibul and document a sinkhole re-discovered by the Friends for Conservation and Development's (FCD) Karst Management Unit (KMU). FCD co-manages the Chiquibul forest which represents 7.7% of Belize's national territory and the KMU is tasked with surveying the Chiquibul's cave system, the largest in Central America. Under cloudy skies the six of us - two members of the KMU, three FCD rangers and myself - shouldered our packs, shifted loads, buckled straps and began the gradual uphill hike to the new sinkhole.


Howler Monkey, Great Curassow, Scarlet Macaws, Brocket Deer

During the first few hours of silent walking we saw brocket deer, great curassows and crested guans, howler monkeys lounging in the canopy, macaws, parrots and parakeets flying overhead. Underfoot were coral snakes, lizards, leaf cutter ant columns and spider webs - lots of spider webs. We heard rustling, hissing, grunts and the ever present chainsaw-like whine of cicadas, first in the distance than washing past like a wave before retiring into the forest expanse.

Vines, ferns, palms and forest giants like Mahogany and Ceiba trees created a lush, verdant wall around us. Rain during the previous week had produced a trail full of thick, sticky mud which clung to our boots, adding 2 lbs to the loads we already struggled with. But the mud also captured the tracks of tapir and wildcats, deer and warrie. Wildness surrounded us like a fantasy world, a reflection of what I imagine the Garden of Eden once was.

Click here to read the rest of the article by Tony Rath. Great story, and lots of wonderful photos...


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Video: The Caves of the Chiquibul

By Carol Farneti Foster. Area being exploded heavily by Guatemalans and needs protection FCD is protecting the area but needs to gather more funding. and help from government for protection.


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Raspacola and Macal River areas in Chiquibul Reserve in Belize

This specific area is now a dam site and the animals no longer are there. They had cut down the trees where the Scarlet Macaws nest and the tapirs and other animal roaming around for food. The web of life has been broken. Now(and for many years in past)the Guatemalans are coming over the border into the Chiquibul Reserve and using Belize's natural resources through mining, farming, killing animals for food and taking the scarlet macaw young to sell in Guatemala.


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FCD Environmental Youth Group: Happy World Water Day Video

The Chiquibul Forest, a gold water reserve provides water resources to over 40% of Belize's population. This is a primary reason why it is important to protect these jungles.


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Inside the Chiquibul: A Deeper Look at Illegal Cattle Ranching

The vast Chiquibul Forest in the south-western region of Belize stretches across more than four hundred and twenty-three acres of land. The tropical rainforest includes the largest cave system in Central America, the Caracol Mayan Site, and the Chiquibul River. It is an invaluable natural resource, but the Chiquibul continues to be raped by Guatemalans who illegally enter from across the border. Today, FCD Park Rangers are battling the latest threat, illegal cattle ranching. News Five's Hipolito Novelo and Darrel Moguel recently trekked more than four kilometers into the Chiquibul, within the adjacency zone to document the illegal activities as part of our series on border communities. Here is the story.

More on Channel 5

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Chiquibul: the Important Role of the Rangers & Soldiers

Illegal cattle ranching is just one of the threats to the Chiquibul forest; the area is remote, but it is rich with the most precious natural resources. On a daily basis it is plundered and the human and financial resources to manage the forest are slim.� Rangers of Friends and Conservation are on duty doing as much as humanly possible, but they are out matched by those who illegally enter to harvest the resources. In Part-two of the Chiquibul series, Hipolito Novelo and Darrel Moguel, along with the F.C.D. and the B.D.F., head to the Caballo Conservation Post which is just one point five miles from the borderline. The story highlights the important role that the rangers and soldiers play in protecting the natural resources of the forest. F.C.D. is operating on a budget of about seven hundred thousand dollars which is forty percent of what is actual needed if they are to carry out their mandate in a more effective way. Here is the story.

For most Belizeans, visiting the Chiquibul- walking through the thick forest and experiencing nature at its finest is merely just a thought. But for these highly trained F.C.D. rangers and B.D.F. soldiers, it is a weekly routine attached to their responsibilities.

Cameraman Darrell Moguel and I trekked more than four kilometers deep into the Chiquibul and I'll be first to admit that it was not a walk in the park.

After receiving the details of the day's plan, we set forth from Tapir Camp. Led by a team of armed B.D.F. and F.C.D. rangers, we set out first by car through an old logging road.

Derric�Chan, Park Manager, Chiquibul National Park

"The Caracol Road is here. We will be driving. It is a logging road. We will be driving about ten kilometers to this point."

Rafael Manzanero, Executive Director, Friends for Conservation and Development

"So we really document how human footprint is occurring, any dangers, any threats, and any hotspot issues. And of course, we work particularly closely with the BDF, particular at the other CPs."�

We arrived at the drop off point and into the jungle we ventured. Our trek would lead us to the Caballo Conservation Post- one point five miles away from the borderline.

As we forced ourselves through the thick forest, the start of the trek felt painless. The forest canopy provided much-needed protection from the sun's harmful rays and the cool wind blowing through the trees was refreshing. The group would pause every so often as the leader checks the coordinates and gives the instruction as to which direction we would take.

We arrived at the first point- a secondary forest. What used to be a clearing is now slowly returning to its natural state- a process which will take many years.

The B.D.F. soldiers advanced to secure the area. We moved forward and as we did, the trek has begun taking a toll. My heart starts racing, sweat pouring down my face, and I begin to feel dehydrated and light headed. We take a break to recharge. The soldiers and rangers stand guard.

DerricChan

"It takes a lot of determination, a lot of will, a lot of commitment to go out there, particularly this time of the year. It is very hot. There is not a lot of water here and it is open grassland so walking out there is very difficult. They have to take their water from here at the way to as far as they go. They have to take enough and that water they will use until they get back. So if you walk five miles u have to use about a gallon of water. You have to conserve water and be able to do your task."

And the task of getting safely to the CP was easy for the soldiers and rangers. They are accustomed to it. I wasn't. As difficult as it felt, we pressed on; climbing several hills- across the rugged terrain. We then came across cattle, a manmade pool, and horses- signs that there might be Guatemalans near. The B.D.F. and Rangers fan out while we stayed behind.

Derric� Chan

"We have seen a progressive and fast movement of people from Guatemalan along the border, in the Peten area and moving towards our border. Like 2002, 2004 we notice that it expanded very quickly."�

Rangers cut the wires of a fence for us to continue our journey. It was a monitoring trip so the location of the cattle was recorded. The soldiers and rangers will return to the area with the intention to make an arrest.��Because of the illegal cattle ranching within the adjacency zone, addressing the issue is complicated as it requires instructions from the Government.

After what felt like a never-ending trek- we were finally some one hundred metres away from the conservation post. The last leg of our journey was particularly difficult. Our water had depleted and our energy was low. We had one more hill to climb to make it up at the CP where the cool breeze was in abundance.

Hipolito Novelo (Stand Up)

"The journey was grueling. It was arduous. It’s nothing I have experienced before. Honestly, for me, I have no idea how F.C.D. rangers and B.D.F. soldiers do this on a daily basis. I am talking incurring splinters all over your body, ticks crawling, trying to bury themselves under your skin, scratches. It was not an easy task. If your body isn't fit for such a journey you would be pushing your body to the limit which is what we did today."�

The work that these F.C.D. Rangers and B.D.F. soldiers do within the Chiquibul, for the most part, goes unnoticed.

Rafael Manzanero

"The resources are basically broken down into manpower and funds. Apart from that is the commitment to do this work. So you can separate it in both.��You can have all the resources but if you don't have the commitment you still can mess it up."�

And we are grateful that we didn't. Hipolito Novelo, News Five.

Channel 5


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