Initiative started 1 January 2000
Payne’s Creek National Park protects hyper saline, saline, brackish and freshwater habitats, mangroves, broadleaf forest and savannah, and the wildlife which resides within these habitats. The ecosystems are a matrix of broadleaf forest, short grass and pine savannah, and herbaceous and mangrove swamps. The park provides direct protection for a great diversity of species of which more than twenty-two are endangered or vulnerable. These include the manatee, goliath grouper, howler monkey, white ibis, jabiru stork and yellow-headed parrot, in addition to Belize’s five species of cat – jaguar, ocelot, margay, puma, and jaguarondi. Three hundred species of birds live or winter in the park. Within the park's boundaries, archaeologists have uncovered four ancient Mayan sites, now submerged under water in the Y’cacos lagoon.
Wild fires are the most severe threat faced by Payne’s Creek National Park. Due to the degradation of these forests from heavy logging, man-made wild fires have become a major problem. Yearly fires impede young pine regeneration and destroy nesting sites of yellow headed parrots, sparrows and black-throated bobwhites, and destroy their young hatchlings.
Management of the Payne’s Creek National Park by the Toledo Institute for Development and Environment (TIDE) actively includes the buffer communities of Monkey River, Punta Negra, and Punta Gorda and is a national model of participatory administration. The protected areas co-managed by TIDE (Port Honduras Marine Reserve with the Fisheries Department, Payne’s Creek National Park with the Forestry Department and the TIDE Private Protected Lands) offer natural and cultural amenities unparalleled in the region. TIDE provides researchers and eco-tourists with a unique opportunity to visit protected areas. For example through world-class fly-fishing tours (permit, tarpon, and bonefish) and bird, wildlife, and nature trails that run through riparian forests along the Monkey River.
Infrastructure plans include ranger stations, education centers, campgrounds, and interpretive signs to increase the understanding and enjoyment of the area's irreplaceable flora and fauna. These plans, which also include livelihood opportunities for buffer communities, are in line with existing management plans and studies on carrying capacity.
