The Bladen Nature Reserve, comprising nearly 100,000 acres of prized natural forest in southern Belize, is described as “the crown jewel of Belize’s protected areas.” Its status is so high among the nation’s protected areas that by law, it is ascribed the greatest level of preservation; and the area is reserved only for the work of scientists and other researchers. Although that is what the Laws of Belize say; the Ya’axche Conservation Trust (YCT), who co-manages the reserve, has again found evidence of illegal harvesting of the native xaté palm, presumably by Guatemalans who continue to come unchecked across the Belize-Guatemala border, to set up their working camps in the area.
The most recent camp was found 20 kilometers or 12.4 miles inside Belizean territory, well inside the Bladen. The Guatemalans left food: rice and flour, footwear, clothes and cans of Super Cola, a soft drink common in Guatemala.
“The confidence of these people,” remarked YCT’s Programme Manager Bartolo Teul to Amandala today. “They leave things there to say, ‘We are coming back. This is our area.’”
Teul told our newspaper that on a just concluded visit to the area, they found a temporary camp with 6 shelters, covered with tarp, that could easily accommodate 15 people and store xaté leaves.
The site, said Teul, was evidently used as a collection center to pile leaves before they are stacked on horses for transportation to Guatemala, via a horse trail about 4 feet wide.
Teul said that it is very rugged area and they don’t go in if they don’t have security.
YCT said that they found no one when they came across the camp, and the Belize Defence Force (BDF) officers who were with them on the patrol destroyed the camp before they left the area.
The NGO reports that, “The camp was discovered during a 10-day research expedition, funded by PACT [Protected Areas Conservation Trust], which was intended to help the managers (Ya’axche Conservation Trust) get a better picture of the natural value of the previously undisturbed area of Snake Creek.”
Teul told Amandala that although their patrols are not frequent, when they do go, they would find evidence of xatéro activity.
He said they are requesting more frequent security patrols of the area.
Teul said that the Bladen area is being exploited more frequently. Xatéros were detected in area of Central River two years ago. This, said Teul, is southwest of the Snake Creek – a tributary to the Bladen River, in the heart of the Maya mountains.
YCT said that it is preparing a detailed technical report on its recent find.