Freshwater Initiative

The Maya Mountain Marine Area Corridor (MMMAC) stretches from the lush pristine forests of the Maya Mountains to the white sand beaches and spectacular array of colors of the Belize Barrier Reef. The five watersheds that make up this system, including one of the second largest in the country, are home to a wide range of wildlife including freshwater crocodiles, howler monkeys, West Indian manatees, tiger herons and toucans. The display of flora is brilliant with the provision tree flower, the gombolimbo or "tourist tree" for its red sunburned like bark and countless species of orchids.

Recognizing the precious nature of Southern Belize's pristine waterways, TIDE, along with its partner the Nature Conservancy, developed a freshwater program in line with The Nature Conservancy's (TNC) Fresh Water Initiative; the program includes a five-year plan including monitoring, assessments and mitigation tools. The two groups are working hand in hand to preserve the watersheds of Toledo for generations to come.

Each year, TIDE's freshwater coordinator along with community members and University of Belize interns travel in kayaks on the 5 main rivers, Monkey River, Golden Stream, Rio Grande, Deep River, Bladen River, recording human impacts with the use of a Global Positioning System (GPS). In some cases these kayak trips can take several days to complete; after hurricane Iris, the rivers were flooded with logs and debris forcing our kayaking researchers to have to carry their kayaks in some parts of the rivers.

Human impacts frequently noted are increased road access to the river, thin or no riparian buffer, pump houses, in stream gravel mining, drainage ditches and grazing. These human impacts in turn, cause increased sedimentation and nutrient loading which in turn cause reef damage and algal blooming. The integration of rivers and streams with the marine environment makes protecting our rivers one of our top priorities.

As the Fresh Water Initiative develops at TIDE we intend to increase our efforts at protection. In the coming years we will begin the implementation of a riparian management strategy, in order to improve the health of coastal plains aquatic communities. The strategy includes efforts to reduce the major threats caused by subsistence farming activities in and near rivers and streams by raising awareness, restoring lost riparian forests, and improving cattle management.