Project Description
In October 2012, the non-profit Belize Foundation for Research and Environmental Education (BFREE) initiated the Belize Cacao-based Agroforestry Restoration Program (BCARP) to convert agricultural land that had been degraded by slash-and-burn techniques to bird-friendly cacao-based agroforestry. Shade-grown cacao agroforestry benefits birds by creating layers of native vegetation similar to natural tropical rainforests. Funded by the Nyanza Natural Resource Damages settlement in Massachusetts, this six year program created wintering habitat for neotropical migratory birds in farming communities throughout the Toledo and Stann Creek Districts of southern Belize. Farms in this area generally raise cattle, citrus, corn, pineapple, and plantain, and the residents of these farm communities are primarily Spanish-speaking immigrant farmers from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras who were each granted 30-acres of land in 2007. During the first year of the program, over 10 stakeholder meetings were held with interested farmers. Once suitable plots for shade-grown cacao were identified, law students from the Conservation Law Clinic at the University of Florida's (UF) Levin College of Law worked with BFREE staff to develop five-year contracts for environmental services. Training workshops were held for the farmers throughout the duration of the program, and in 2017, BFREE collaborated with the University of North Carolina (UNC) Wilmington to publish The Belize Cacao Agroforestry Handbook. A pen pal project was also initiated between the Golden Stream Community School, a primary school in a village near the BFREE reserve, and third graders at the Canterbury Elementary School in Canterbury, NH. The students exchanged letters on the themes of birds, culture, holidays, and family. This pen pal project later expanded to include over 100 students from schools in New Hampshire, North Carolina, and Tennessee.
Six nurseries were created to propagate cacao and coffee seedlings, including a larger, permanent nursery, named Mountain View Nursery, to grow other native tree species to be interplanted on the farms to create diverse agroforests. Throughout the program, annual bird monitoring surveys took place on cacao farm plots with comparison plots on nearby cattle, citrus, and pineapple farms to examine the effectiveness of cacao agroforestry restoration as bird-friendly habitat. Using point counts and bird banding surveys, more species of neotropical migratory and resident birds were found using the habitat created on the cacao farms than other agricultural habitats. Though BCARP was only funded through 2018, cacao agroforestry is continuing to gain popularity in Belize as a sustainable method of farming and effective method for restoring wintering habitat for neotropical birds.
Restoration Land Ownership
Land Outside the U.S.; Private
Parties Implementing Restoration
Belize Foundation for Research and Environmental Education
DOI Project Representatives
Fish and Wildlife Service