Environment/global climate change : Rio Bravo conservation and management

The subproject will help finance the purchase of 110,000 acres of largely undisturbed forest; this area will be combined with 42,000 acres already donated by Coca Cola Foods Corp. to constitute the RBCMA, which will be managed as national trust by the Programme for Belize (PFB), an indigenous conservation entity. The Massachusetts Audubon Society will broker the purchase of the land with help from The Nature Conservancy. The PFB has established seven specific financial and management objectives for the RBCMA property. These are to: (1) develop the administration necessary for its long-term management; (2) preserve biological diversity at Rio Bravo and ensure that the vegetation and wildlife are not severely affected by research activity, visitor use, or economic exploitation; (3) secure land parcels and delineate boundaries; (4) establish research programs in the biological sciences, forest management, and archaeology; (5) improve access to Rio Bravo by upgrading the road network and controlling traffic; (6) develop a forest management plan and begin harvesting timber and other forest products on a commercial and sustainable basis; and (7) improve public relations by publicizing Rio Bravo and its objectives, and by developing long- term relationships with nearby landowners.