TREES FOR LIFE

Community is at the heart of conservation in the tropical forests of southern Belize

- SARAH MCPHERSON

IN SOUTHERN BELIZE, IN THE district of Toledo, lies the wonderfully named Maya Golden Landscape. This 275,000ha swathe of forest is as magical as it sounds, connecting mountains to coast and sheltering a vast array of wildlife, from the harpy eagle to all five of Belize's big cats.

Nestled at the very foot of the country, Toledo is an undeveloped and sparsely populated corner of Belize. Tourists, most of which hail from the USA, tend not to venture this far down, heading instead for the white-sand cayes of the country's famous barrier reef. Indeed, gazing down over the landscape from a tiny, eight-seater plane, the view reveals no high-rise developments nor sprawling resorts; just acres of greenery, broken up by clusters of dwellings, the occasional shrimp farm and one main road.

The Maya Golden Landscape comprises an impressive nine protected areas that sit virtually back to back. One of these, the Golden Stream Corridor Preserve, is where I'm to spend my first two days in Belize, in the capable hands of local organisation Ya'axché Conservation Trust. In collaboration with international charity Fauna & Flora, Ya'axché has been safeguarding this parcel of land since 1998, not only for wildlife, but for people: Toledo is home to the majority of Belize's indigenous Maya communities, whose rural lives are intrinsically linked to the forest.

Soon after that little plane touches down, I'm exploring Golden Stream for myself, accompanied by Estevan Assi, Ya'axché's community outreach and livelihoods director, who showcases how the forest fulfils the needs of local people. The leaves of the cohune palm - a prominent tree in the Belizean landscape - provide thatching material and nuts; meat comes from game such as deer, paca (or gibnut) and armadillo, and there's even an effective wart treatment in the orange sap of the achiote tree.