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Vaca Forest Reserve
Vaca Forest Reserve is a nature reserve in the Cayo District of western Belize. The reserve covers an area of . It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the east by Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve and Nojkaaxmeen Elijio Panti National Park, and to the south by Chiquibul National Park. It forms part of the greater Maya Mountains massif. Vaca Forest Reserve was established in 1991 and originally consisted of an estimated . In 2003, over were removed from the reserve by the Government of Belize to provide more land to farmers from the buffering communities. In 2011, an additional were removed. In recent years, the reserve has been seriously degraded by agricultural encroachment, illegal logging, and forest fires A forest fire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a bushfire ( in Au .... References ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nature Reserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for purposes of Conservation (ethic), conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research. They may be designated by government institutions in some countries, or by private landowners, such as charities and research institutions. Nature reserves fall into different IUCN protected area categories, IUCN categories depending on the level of protection afforded by local laws. Normally it is more strictly protected than a nature park. Various jurisdictions may use other terminology, such as ecological protection area or private protected area in legislation and in official titles of the reserves. History Cultural practices that roughly equate to the establishmen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cayo District
Cayo is a district located in the west part of Belize, and it contains the capital, Belmopan. It is the most extensive, second-most populous and third-most densely populated of the six districts of Belize. The district's capital is the town of San Ignacio. Geography Being the largest district, it borders Guatemala to the west, Orange Walk district to the north, Belize district to the northeast, Stann Creek district to the southeast and Toledo district to the south. The nation's capital, Belmopan, is located within the district. Other important towns and cities in the district include Benque Viejo del Carmen, twin towns of San Ignacio and Santa Elena (District's Capital), Seven Miles (El Progreso), San Antonio, Valley of Peace, St. Margaret, Roaring Creek, Armenia, San Jose Succotz, Arenal, Buena Vista, Bullet Tree Falls, Calla Creek, Esperanza, Cristo Rey, Georgeville, Unitedville, Blackman Eddy, Ontario, Camalote, Los Tambos, More Tomorrow and Spanish Looko ... [...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] |
Guatemala
Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically bordered to the south by the Pacific Ocean and to the northeast by the Gulf of Honduras. The territory of modern Guatemala hosted the core of the Maya civilization, which extended across Mesoamerica; in the 16th century, most of this was Spanish conquest of Guatemala, conquered by the Spanish and claimed as part of the viceroyalty of New Spain. Guatemala attained independence from Spain and Mexico in 1821. From 1823 to 1841, it was part of the Federal Republic of Central America. For the latter half of the 19th century, Guatemala suffered instability and civil strife. From the early 20th century, it was ruled by a series of dictators backed by the United States. In 1944, authoritarian leader Jorge Ubico was overthrown by a pro-democratic m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve
Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve is a protected area in the Cayo District of southern central Belize. It was established in 1944 to protect and manage the native Belizean pine forests. Its boundaries are poorly defined, but it is estimated to cover an area of 106,352.5 acres (430 km2), although much of the reserve has been leased. Geography The reserve is predominantly pine forest (58.5%), primarily Caribbean pine, ''Pinus caribaea'' var. ''hondurensis'', but with a significant broadleaf forest component (36.8%). There are small areas of grassland (3.4%) and wetland (0.6%). Roads, rivers and other features make up the remainder of the area (10.9%). The climate is subtropical with a rainy season from July to February. During the dry season (February to May) temperatures may reach 39 °C (102 °F) with a humidity level of 70%. The majority of the reserve is situated on a granite massif, with some areas of limestone in the west of the reserve (remnants of a lim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chiquibul National Park
Chiquibul National Park is Belize's largest national park.Riley, Laura, Riley, William, 2005''Nature's Strongholds: The World's Great Wildlife Reserves'' Princeton University Press, p. 333, . It is in size. The park is located in Belize's Cayo District. The national park surrounds Caracol, a Mayan city. Caracol has been designated as an archaeological reserve and is not included within the park's total area. Chiquibul Forest Reserve is adjacent to the park. Establishment of the park Chiquibul National Park was originally part of Chiquibul Forest Reserve, which was designated in 1956. In 1991, due to lobbying from conservationists, the three-quarters of the forest reserve that did not have active logging concessions was re-designated as a national park under Belize's National Parks System Act. The park's borders were re-defined in 1995. Caracol became surrounded by the national park. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maya Mountains
The Maya Mountains are a mountain range located in Belize and eastern Guatemala, in Central America. Etymology The Maya Mountains were known as the ''Cockscomb'' or ''Coxcomb Mountains'' to Baymen and later Belizeans at least until the mid-20th century. Their current appellation is thought to be in honour of the Mayan civilisation. Geography Physical Peaks The range's highest peaks are Doyle's Delight at and Victoria Peak at . Rivers Nine streams with a Strahler order greater than 1 flow from the Mountains into the Caribbean Sea, namely, five tributaries of the Belize River, two tributaries of the Monkey River, and the Sittee River and Boom Creek. Karst Prominent karstic features within the Mountains include the Chiquibul Spring and Cave System, the Vaca Plateau, the Southern and Northern Boundary Faults, and possibly an aquifer contiguous with that of the Yucatán Peninsula. Plutons The Mountains 'are the only source of igneous and metamorphic materi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Massif
A massif () is a principal mountain mass, such as a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits (e.g. France's Massif Central). In mountaineering literature, ''massif'' is frequently used to denote the main mass of an individual mountain. As a purely scientific term in geology, however, a "massif" is separately and more specifically defined as a section of a planet's crust (geology), crust that is demarcated by geologic fault, faults or lithospheric flexure, flexures. In the plate tectonics, movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. A massif is a smaller structural unit than a tectonic plate and is considered the fourth-largest driving force in geomorphology. The word "massif" originates from French (in which the word also means "massive"), where it is used to refer to a large mountain mass or compact group of connected mountains forming an independent portion of a range. The Cydonia (regi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Government Of Belize
His Majesty's Government in Belize, also referred to as the Belizean Government is the democratic administrative authority of Belize, a constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy. It was formed in 1981 after gaining sovereignty from the United Kingdom. The constitution is the supreme law of Belize. Executive branch The king of Belize is represented in Belize by a governor-general who acts on the advice of the prime minister and the cabinet. Belize is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary, its democracy is based on the Westminster model. Belize is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. Charles III is head of state and is represented in the country by Governor General Her Excellency Froyla Tzalam, who is the country's third governor-general. The primary executive organ of government is the cabinet, led by a prime minister. Cabinet ministers are members of the majority political party in Parliament and usually hold elected seats in the National Assembly co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Illegal Logging
Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase, or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, or from a protected area; the cutting down of protected species; or the extraction of timber in excess of agreed limits. Illegal logging is a driving force for a number of environmental issues such as deforestation, soil erosion and biodiversity loss which can drive larger-scale environmental crises such as climate change and other forms of environmental degradation. Illegality may also occur during transport, such as illegal processing and export (through smuggling, fraudulent declaration to customs); the tax avoidance, avoidance of taxes and other charges, and fraudulent certification. These acts are often referred to as "wood laundering". Illegal logging is driven by a number of economic forces, such as demand for raw materials, land grabbing and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wildfire
A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a bushfire (Bushfires in Australia, in Australia), desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, Peat#Peat fires, peat fire, prairie fire, vegetation fire, or veld fire. Some natural forest ecosystems Fire ecology, depend on wildfire. Modern forest management often engages in prescribed burns to mitigate fire risk and promote natural forest cycles. However, controlled burns can turn into wildfires by mistake. Wildfires can be classified by cause of ignition, physical properties, combustible material present, and the effect of weather on the fire. Wildfire severity results from a combination of factors such as available fuels, physical setting, and weather. Climatic cycles with wet periods that create substantial fuels, followed by drought and heat, of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
