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- Mennonites in Belize own thousands of hectares of rainforest that make up part of a “biological corridor” for wildlife moving between numerous protected areas.
- The Mennonites started clearing the forest in 2022 without carrying out an environmental impact assessment, which destroyed wildlife habitats and polluted the local watershed, critics say.
- An environmental impact assessment is being carried out retroactively, but conservationists are worried it isn’t detailed enough and will still lead to the destruction of the corridor.
A stretch of rainforest in Belize that allows wildlife to pass freely between protected areas is under threat of deforestation, and conservationists are scrambling to contain the damage.
Mennonites, a highly conservative Christian sect, own thousands of acres of rainforest that currently make up part of the Maya Forest Corridor, but plans to clear it for farming and quarrying could sever the connection and weaken local ecosystems, critics say.
“Wildlife disperse and move in order for them to survive,” Betsy Mallory, scientific adviser for the Belize Zoo and Tropical Education Center, said at a public consultation in June. “They need populations. They need to breed. They need to find mates.”
The Maya Forest Corridor spans approximately 37,000 hectares (91,000 acres) and is the last section of forest connecting some of the most biodiverse protected areas in the country, the Belize Maya Forest and Maya Mountains Massif.
The protected areas are made up of tropical forests, savannas, wetlands and cave systems that provide habitats for animals like jaguars (Panthera onca) and Baird’s tapirs (Tapirus bairdii), among others. There are also Maya artifacts in the area.
The corridor isn’t one contiguous conservation area, but rather a collection of smaller protected areas and private property. In recent years, environmental groups like the Maya Forest Corridor Trust and Re:wild have tried to buy up as much private land as they can, including a 12,100-hectare (30,000-acre) stretch of forest in 2021 for $21.5 million. But other acquisitions haven’t always gone to plan.
In 2022, one crucial 2,719-hectare (6,719-acre) tract, colloquially known as Tiger Sandy Bay, was purchased from a private landholder for development by the Spanish Lookout Mennonite community, according to the environmental impact assessment. If the forest disappears there, a large part of the corridor would be lost, endangering wildlife trying to travel across roads and through human settlements, conservationists said.
“It’s going to be very difficult if it’s a conservation area today but tomorrow it’s not,” Elma Kay, chair of the board of directors of the Maya Forest Corridor Trust, said during the consultation.
Even though Tiger Sandy Bay is private property, the law requires an environmental impact assessment to mitigate the damage caused by clearing the forest for agriculture. Before an assessment was submitted, Mennonite families divided the land into parcels and cleared 1,113 hectares (2,750 acres) to plant corn, soybeans, sorghum and other crops, according to the environmental impact assessment. They also started building roads and bridges.
Last year, a fire allegedly spread because of intentional burning for agriculture. It destroyed around 404 hectares (1,000 acres) of forest, according to officials at the Monkey Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, who spoke at the consultation.
“This is not just about the land you own,” Mallory said. “Wildlife, water and pollution don’t stop at property boundaries.”
Mennonites arrived in Belize in the late 1950s and ’60s, and today have settled into around a dozen communities across the country. Their traditional religious views are closely connected to farming, and have clashed with efforts to conserve the rainforest. In numerous countries across Latin America, Mennonites have exacerbated deforestation rates and expanded their communities, sometimes in defiance of the law.
Members of the Spanish Lookout Community Corporation Limited, the Mennonite-owned entity that purchased Tiger Sandy Bay, could not be reached for comment for this story.
A retroactive environmental impact assessment was submitted in May, outlining plans to clear another 526 hectares (1,300 acres) of the forest. It also described plans to use duster planes and drones to apply more than 18 different agrochemicals, which could result in chemical runoff, conservationists said.
The assessment also called for clearing 222 hectares (550 acres) for the development of a rock quarry. However, the report offered little explanation for the project, prompting conservationists to criticize its vague language and lack of detail.
Another swath of 667 hectares (1,650 acres) set aside for conservation and ecotourism also lacks explanation in the assessment, conservationists said. During the consultation, Kay expressed concern that it would eventually succumb to farming, as there wouldn’t be a mechanism outlined in the assessment to permanently protect it.
“At this point, it’s called the ‘conservation area,’ but it does say that it could be [used] for future development,” she pointed out.
Conservationists at last month’s consultation also said the assessment lacked detailed biodiversity data and incorrectly claimed there were no endangered species in the area. They also said the assessment’s fire prevention plans and the analysis of archaeological sites were inadequate.
Right now, there are plans to maintain a 45.7-meter (150-foot) “riparian buffer” of forest along the Sibun River, in central Belize, meant to protect against chemical runoff and other environmental threats. However, development has already made it down to the riverbank, according to members of a nearby community cited at the consultation.
A committee will review the assessment and comments made during last month’s consultation, then it can call for additional consultation, revisions to the assessment, or reject it outright. If, however, the assessment is approved, officials will draft a compliance plan that makes it legally binding.
Conservationists said they’re worried any regulations put in place will be immediately violated, without repercussions for the landowners. Because the environmental impacts are being carried out retroactively, there’s virtually no confidence in the system, they said.
“This is a bit of a mockery of the process,” Kay said. “Because basically anybody could start developing, violate the laws, pay the fine, continue violating … and now we’re here to talk about a clearance process.”
Banner image: Deforestation in the Great Maya Forest. Image courtesy of Global Conservation.
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