Conservation in Belize - The Wildlife Conservation Society
By Jack Wilde
Situated on the Caribbean coast of Central America, Belize is rich in terrestrial and marine tropical ecosystems. The people of Belize are very proud of this heritage and are strongly tied to the land and the sea, both emotionally and economically. So the citizens and the government work together to protect and maintain the integrity and long term health of these tropical environments. There are also quite a few international organisations working in Belize, to assist in these efforts.
One of the most important and influential of the international participants is the Wildlife Conservation Society. The WCS began as the New York Zoological Society when they founded the Bronx Zoo, in 1895. Now they run an extensive system of zoos, and manage research and conservation projects worldwide.
In Belize, the WCS operates a marine research station at Glover's Reef, and is running several conservation projects under the Ocean Giants Program, focusing on such large and important marine creatures as whale sharks, reef sharks, sea turtles, and stingrays.
Glover's Reef is one of only four atolls in the Caribbean, and is the richest in marine life. With a well-developed barrier reef surrounding and sheltering hundreds of patch reefs, Glover's Reef is a hotspot of biodiversity. The calm, clear, shallow waters provided by the surrounding reef are ideal for snorkeling, while the vertical wall that surrounds the reef provides world-class diving.
Island Expeditions has a base camp at Glover's Reef, one island away from the WCS Marine Research Station. An essential part of our Glover's Reef trips is to visit this island, and to show our guests some of the important work the WCS is doing here in Belize. There is much to be learned in the field of Tropical Marine Biology, and Glover's Reef is an ideal study site.
By providing the facilities and logistical support, the WCS plays an important role in improving our understanding of tropical marine ecosystems. The better we understand these ecosystems, the better decisions can be made to protect and preserve their ecological values. And the better we preserve the marine environment, the better it is for the people who live here, to sustain their way of life for generations to come.
In my next post we will take a look at the Ocean Giants program.