Earlier we showed you Belize and Guatemala's maximum leaders engage in bilateral talks for cooperation at the state level, but the Friends for Conservation and Dev elopement which co-manage the Chiquibul National Park says they need to look at encroachment son the adjacency zone.
A release reports that "An analysis conducted by FCD using remote sensing, aerial reconnaissance and ground truthing shows that the 1 km width along Belize's border is heavily compromised." The release adds, quote, "Although the Adjacency Zone was established for the purpose of promoting confidence between Belize and Guatemala…the Guatemalan human activity has been building up in the AZ."
They point to deforested areas in the Chiquibul National Park and Caracol Archaeological Reserve being used for cattle ranching and milpa farming. They say that a total of 1,837.59 hectares, or 84.36% of the total deforestation in these two areas, occurred inside the Adjacency Zone.
They add that only a third of the the Adjacency Zone in the Chiquibul Forest is either standing primary forest or regenerative secondary forest. They note that Guatemalan Cattle ranching is a major issue affecting the Chiquibul Forest, especially inside the Adjacency Zone. At least 30 cattle ranching areas are known to occur within the AZ.
