Carbon in the Belize Forest

News and Events

11/05/2011

Feature Project of the Week!
Carbon in the Belize Forest

Project: Forest Inventories for Assessment of Environmental Services and Sustainable Extraction Practices

Funded by: Protected Areas Conservation Trust (PACT) Foundation

Project Description
Earlier this year, the PACT Foundation awarded a Grant of

$36,010 to the Ya’axche Conservation Trust (YCT). The project will compile an inventory of forest species present within the Golden Stream Corridor Preserve (GSCP) and Bladen Nature Reserve (BNR), enhancing the current knowledge base of biodiversity and environmental services. Additionally, the forest inventory from the GSCP will provide accurate information for sustainable extraction practices and will supply YCT with improved statistics for reception of carbon funding from the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) Program, thus starting a sustainable financing mechanism for the management of the BNR.

A major expected outcome of the project is to, as accurately as possible, calculate the live carbon contained within the GSCP. A second output of the project is the training and subsequent contracting of members of the GSCP’s buffer communities to undertake this and future scientific assessments.

The Assessment Phase of the project is currently underway and

should last until May 27, 2011 (37 days of forest inventory). The assessment team comprises 2 representatives each from Golden Stream and Medina Bank and 4 from Indian Creek. Members were chosen from buffer communities to make up the eight man team in an effort to educate the “locals,” which is essential in keeping them well informed of carbon credits and what it means for the area and Belize. Sustainable forestry is a big employer locally in the Deep River, Swasey-Bladen and Maya Mountain Forest Reserves and these transferable skills provide opportunities for employment in the local sustainable industry.

YCT also conducted a 7-day training course guided by Consultant Percival Cho. In addition to the assessment team, 6 YCT Personnel, 1 from the Toledo Institute for Development and Environment (TIDE) and 1 from the University of Belize’s Environmental Research Institute (UB-ERI) also participated. The training introduced the participants to forest inventories, carbon, REDD, and metric system of measurement. The participants received navigation training where they learned how to use of cardinal points, the compass and GPS units. They also learned to determine how much carbon a tree holds, and how to use of 50m tapes and Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) tapes—two essential pieces of equipment for a forest inventory. They then spent 3 days engaging in practical activities: locating, demarcating, and enumerating plots—making use of what they learned with their new compass and measuring skills while being supervised by the consultant.

On the sixth day of training, the teams did their first real

test with no assistance, and were very successful and timely. The final day was spent reviewing the results of the previous day and going over arising issues. A list was also compiled of the different tree species that might be encountered.

The participants have gained valuable knowledge and scientific skills on forest inventories, how deforestation and forest degradation is contributing to global warming and how developing countries can be compensated by carbon emitting countries for avoided deforestation.

For more information visit YCT’s website: www.yaaxche.org or email info@pactbelize.org.

PACT was formally established in January 1996 with the passing of the Protected Areas Conservation Trust Act, No. 15 of 1995, creating the institution as a Statutory Board. The functions of PACT are to encourage and promote, for the benefit and enjoyment of the present and future generations of the people of Belize, the provision, protection, conservation and enhancement of the natural and cultural resources of Belize. The PACT is managed by a Board of Directors that is comprised of Government agencies, non-government organizations and individual experts.

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