And while the reef system has made a comeback - so is Xate in the Chiquibul.
As we've reported over the years, Xate leaf extraction is one of the favorite illegal activities for Guatemalan poachers in the Chiquibul National Park.
Now the Friends for Conservation and Development has measured whether the xate plant population has been further depleted.
FCD teamed up with the Belize Nature Conservation Foundation, and they conducted a field survey of 30 plots in the park. They measured the amount of harvesting being done on the 5 different xate species, and they found that 3 out of the 5 species is still being harvested, but at a very reduced rate.
The FCD reports that the value of xate on the market has fallen by as much as 89%. The FCD says that is due to several factors including vigilant patrols of the park, the fall in prices, the change in the xate export policies, and the constant bi-national work between the Belizean and Guatemalan NGO's.
FCD notes that the illegal xatero footprint in the Chiquibul forest has decreased considerably. When they first started to co-manage the national park, an estimated 1,500 Guatemalans were operating in the Chiquibul forest. This is no longer the case.
