The PACT continues to invest in conservation of the Bladen Nature Reserve, one of only two nature reserves in the country that employs the strictest form of conservation management. Bladen Nature Reserve encompasses 100,000 acres of pristine natural forest in southern Belize. Bladen is home to Belize’s unique wildlife including Harpy Eagles, Scarlet Macaws and the five cat species in Belize (Ocelot, Puma, Jaguar, Margay, Jaguarundi).  

This month, the PACT Board approved $100,000 to support management activities within the Bladen Nature Reserve. This brings total investment for this fiscal year, in the Bladen Nature Reserve to $125,396.83.

The investment is being facilitated through grants to the Ya’axché Conservation Trust which has been working with the Forest Department to co-manage the Bladen Nature Reserve since 2008. Ya’axché Conservation Trust promotes integrated landscape management for equitable development through sustainable land use management, and strategic advocacy and awareness. This recent investment from PACT will focus on strengthening the biodiversity monitoring and data collection program established in 2008 by Ya’axché. Bladen Nature Reserve is one of the most biologically-diverse protected areas in Belize and is one of the key biodiversity areas in the Maya Mountains block of protected areas.  

Through collaboration with the University of Belize’s Environmental Research Institute, data gathered will be shared with the public, contributing to monitoring biodiversity on a national level.