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Belize Audubon Society
The Belize Audubon Society is a conservation group in Belize, formed in 1969. Like similar societies elsewhere, it is named in honor of ornithologist and naturalist John James Audubon. History The Belize Audubon Society was formed in 1969 by Dora Weyer and a group of conservationists. The Society was formed with a vision to inspire people to live in harmony with and benefit from the environment. The first president of the Belize Audubon Society, James A. Waight, served from 1969 until 1986. He was born in Belize City and was the Surveyor General of Belize. His dedication to the Belize Audubon Society is honored by an annual award for services to conservation in Belize called the James A. Waight Award. The Belize Audubon Society aims at conserving and protecting wildlife in Belize for the benefit of humanity and the earth's biological diversity. In 1973 the society's first launched conservation project, the Jabiru stork, was added to Belize's list of protected species. Board of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belize
Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. Part of the Caribbean region, Belize is a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Commonwealth Caribbean, the historical British West Indies. The Maya civilization spread into the area of Belize between 1500 BCE and 300 CE and flourished until about 1200. European contact began in 1502–04 when Christopher Columbus sailed along the Gulf of Honduras. European exploration was begun by English settlers in 1638. Spanish Empire, Spain and Kingdom of Great Britain, Britain both laid claim to the land until Britain defeated the Spanish in the Battle of St. George's Caye (1798). It became British Honduras, a British colony in 1840, and a Crown colony in 1862. Belize achieved its independence from the United Kingdom on 21 September ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John James Audubon
John James Audubon (born Jean-Jacques Rabin, April 26, 1785 – January 27, 1851) was a French-American Autodidacticism, self-trained artist, natural history, naturalist, and ornithology, ornithologist. His combined interests in art and ornithology turned into a plan to make a complete pictorial record of all the bird species of North America. He was notable for his extensive studies documenting all types of American birds and for his detailed illustrations, which depicted the birds in their natural habitats. His major work, a color-plate book titled ''The Birds of America'' (1827–1839), is considered one of the finest ornithological works ever completed. Audubon is also known for identifying 25 new species. He is the eponym of the National Audubon Society, and his name adorns a large number of towns, neighborhoods, and streets across the United States. Dozens of scientific names first published by Audubon are still in use by the scientific community. Audubon was accused during ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jabiru Stork
The jabiru ( or ; ''Jabiru mycteria'') is a large stork found in the Americas from Mexico to Argentina, except west of the Andes. It sometimes wanders into the United States, usually in Texas, but has also been reported in Mississippi, Oklahoma and Louisiana. It is most common in the Pantanal region of Brazil and the Eastern Chaco region of Paraguay. It is the only member of the genus ''Jabiru''. The name comes from the Tupi–Guaraní language and means "swollen neck". Taxonomy Hinrich Lichtenstein described the jabiru in 1819. The name ''jabiru'' has also been used for two other birds of a distinct genus: black-necked stork (''Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus''), commonly called "jabiru" in Australia; and sometimes also for the saddle-billed stork (''Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis'') of Sub-Saharan Africa. In particular, Gardiner's Egyptian hieroglyph G29, believed to depict an ''E. senegalensis'', is sometimes labeled "jabiru" in hieroglyph lists. The ''Ephippiorhynchus'' is be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protected Area
Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood, non-timber forest products, water, ...) is limited. The term "protected area" also includes marine protected areas and transboundary protected areas across multiple borders. As of 2016, there are over 161,000 protected areas representing about 17 percent of the world's land surface area (excluding Antarctica). For waters under national jurisdiction beyond inland waters, there are 14,688 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), covering approximately 10.2% of coastal and marine areas and 4.12% of global ocean areas. In contrast, only 0.25% of the world's oceans beyond national jurisdiction are covered by MPAs. In recent years, the 30 by 30 initiative has targeted to protect 30% of ocean territory and 30% of land territory worldwide by 2030; this ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary
The Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary is a nature reserve in the Stann Creek District of south-central Belize. It was established to protect the forests, fauna and watersheds of an approximately area of the eastern slopes of the Maya Mountains. The reserve was established in 1986 as the first protected area for protection of the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). It is regarded as a premier site for jaguar preservation in the world. The name 'Cockscomb' derives from the appearance of the Cockscomb Mountain ridge, that resembles a rooster's comb, which is situated at the northern fringe of the reserve and which is easily visible from the coastal plain of the Caribbean Sea. Habitation by the ancient Mayas occurred in the Cockscomb Basin as early as 10,000 BCE. However, the first modern exploration in the recorded history of the basin did not occur until 1888. Geography The Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary is actually comprised by two adjacent geographic basins. The West Basin is d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary
Crooked Tree Wild Life Sanctuary (CTWS) is a protected area in Belize. The main goal of the sanctuary is to protect the area for the thousands of waterbirds that migrate to and through it every year. Environment During Belize's dry season many resident and migratory birds find refuge in the lagoons. The sanctuary contains of lagoons, creeks, log wood swamps, broad leaf forest and pine savanna, home to hundreds of species of wildlife. The sanctuary protects globally endangered species including the Central American river turtle (locally known as the hickatee), Yucatán black howler monkey and yellow-headed amazon. The sanctuary, along with adjacent protected areas including the Lamanai Archaeological Reserve, Monkey Bay National Park, Runaway Creek reserve and the Manatee Forest Reserve, as well as the surrounding wetlands, form a 160,000 ha site that has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports significant populations o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guanacaste National Park (Belize)
Guanacaste National Park is a park in central Belize. It is named after a huge guanacaste tree that escaped being logged because its trunk divided into three bases, reducing its value as timber. Guanacaste National Park is located on the north side of the Western Highway just to the east of the Roaring Creek bridge - about west of Belize City, in the Cayo District of Belize. In 1973, it was established as a Crown Reserve but finally gained status as a national park in 1990. The park was later put under the responsibility of the Belize Audubon Society. The Guanacaste National Park is the most accessible park of the Belize Audubon Society-managed protected areas. Its proximity to Belize's major cities make it a popular family spot. Public transportation from any nearby city is available to the national park. The park is open to the public only during the day. The Guanacaste National Park is open from 8 am until 4:30 pm. The admission fee is about $1 BZD ( Belize Dollar) for ci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Half Moon Caye
Half Moon Caye is an island and natural monument of Belize located at the southeast corner of Lighthouse Reef Atoll. This natural monument was the first nature reserve to have been established in Belize under the National Park Systems Act in 1981 and first marine protected area in Central America. This is also Belize's oldest site of wildlife protection since it was first designated as a bird sanctuary in 1924 to protect the habitat of the red-footed booby birds. World Heritage Site Half Moon Caye Natural Monument is part of the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System World Heritage Site which was established on December 4, 1996, by the United Nations World Heritage Committee after they formally adopted seven marine protected areas along the Belize Barrier Reef and its adjacent atolls under UNESCO at their meeting in Mérida, Mexico. Significant features * The littoral forest, composed primarily of the orange-flowered siricote tree, provides an endangered and fragile habitat tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victoria Peak (Belize)
Victoria Peak within the Maya Mountains is the second highest mountain in Belize, at a height of . The highest peak in the country, Doyle's Delight, at a height of , is located southwest of Victoria Peak. Victoria Peak is situated in the Stann Creek District of Belize, in the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, and is home to many flora and fauna common to Belize. It was pronounced a natural monument in 1998, comprising about 4,847 acres bordered by the Sittee River Wildlife Reserve, Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, and Chiquibul National Park.National Parks System Act (2003). Natural Monument Reservation (Victoria Peak Natural Monument) Order. Retrieved March 1, 2014, from http://www.biodiversity.bz/downloads/laws/parks_act.pdf Ecology and climate Victoria Peak is situated in a broad-leaved montane elfin forest. The tropical evergreen jungle has been damaged by hurricanes such as Hurricane Hattie in 1961, and fires caused by occasional lightning. These environmental fac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conservation In Belize
Since declaring independence in 1981, Belize has enacted many environmental protection laws aimed at the preservation of the country's natural and cultural heritage, as well as its wealth of natural resources. These acts have established a number of different types of protected areas, with each category having its own set of regulations dictating public access, resource extraction, land use and ownership. Roughly 26% (2.6 million acres, or 1.22 million hectares) of Belizean land and sea is preserved within a total of 95 reserves, which vary in their purpose and level of protection. This network of protected areas exists under a variety of management structures: * of terrestrial reserves; * of marine reserves; * protected through officially recognised private conservation initiatives. However, most of these protected areas are actually for the management of resource use and extraction, rather than for the preservation of the environment. Background Biodiversity Situated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Audubon Society
The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such organizations in the world. There are completely independent Audubon Societies in the United States, which were founded several years earlier such as the Massachusetts Audubon Society, Indiana Audubon Society, and Connecticut Audubon Society. The societies are named for 19th century naturalist John James Audubon. The society has nearly 500 local chapters, each of which is an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization voluntarily affiliated with the National Audubon Society. They often organize birdwatching field trips and conservation-related activities. It also coordinates the Christmas Bird Count held each December in the U.S., a model of citizen science, in partnership with Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and the Great Backyard Bird Count ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Audubon Movement
The Audubon movement is a collective name for the more than 500 Audubon clubs, societies, and organizations in North America, all of which take their name from the famous bird artist John James Audubon. Origins Audubon lived from 1785 to 1851, and over the course of a lifetime roamed across a still very wild America to paint hundreds of its birds. A determined and passionate man, he eventually realized his dream of not only painting North America's birds, but publishing '' Birds of America'', a massive book containing 435 hand-colored plates of 1,065 individual birds. Audubon became the chosen symbol for a movement begun in the late 1890s to stop the unrestricted slaughter of birds. Early Audubon society members pledged to shun the fashion-of-the-day of wearing hats and coats adorned with bird feathers and wings, and to hunt birds for consumption only, rather than sport or trade. Early Audubon members studied birds, improved their habitats, and fought for bird protection. Thei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
