Conservation

Runaway Creek Nature Reserve is located in central Belize. The forests of central Belize are rapidly disappearing and are currently threatened by the expansion of agricultural lands, road construction, gravel mining, damming of rivers, man-made forest fires, and over hunting. Without large tracts of forest, endangered species such as jaguar, spider monkeys, and the Baird’s tapir will suffer from lack of habitat, making it hard to find food and mates.

The Maya Forest Corridor is made up of a network of privately owned properties and nature preserves that together protect enough forest to give species options to roam and flourish. Runaway Creek serves as a critical piece of the Maya Forest Corridor, connecting the Selva Maya in the north of Belize to the Manatee Forest Reserve and Maya Mountain Massif in the south.

“All these small dots on the map – if you save one, that’s great. But if you save enough of these great fragments in such a way that they can be linked together then you’ve created a system. If others do this in other countries and continents, we may patch together a network of survival for the remaining species on our planet.”

Through the protection of Runaway Creek Nature Reserve, the Foundation for Wildlife Conservation aims to preserve and protect endangered species and their habitats while educating local people about the importance of preserving their natural resources. Runaway Creek serves as a model for other privately owned property within the Maya Forest Corridor.