Tropical Forest and Wetlands, Guatemala
The land purchase of the Laguna Grande-Sarstún Reserve has been completed but World Land Trust (WLT) continues to support the ongoing protection of the reserve through Keepers of the Wild.
The Laguna Grande-Sarstún Reserve is located within an area of tropical forest and wetland considered to be the single largest remnant of lowland and inundated tropical rainforest in Caribbean Guatemala.The reserve is just south of the border with Belize.
Find out how the WLT is protecting forest and wetlands in Guatemala...
Project aim
WLT is raising funds through the Keepers of the Wild Appeal to support a ranger, Ricardo Caal, to work within the Laguna Grande-Sarstún Reserve. Ricardo has been with the reserve since 2011, where his main role is to patrol the protected area, on foot and by canoe, to make sure there is no hunting or illegal removal of timber.
Partner:
Urgent funding needed
This project is supported through the Keepers of the Wild Appeal.
Biodiversity
A high diversity of plant and animal species including:
Plants:
As many as 57 endemic species.
Amphibians:
49 species including 3 endemic Salamanders.
Mammals:
84 species including: the Neotropical Otter (Lutra longicaudis), Mexican Black Howler Monkey (Alouatta pigra), Baird’s Tapir (Tapirus bairdii), West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus) and five species of big cat including Jaguar (Panthera onca);
Birds:
Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja), Mangrove Swallow (Tachycineta albilinea) and Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens).
The area is also a very important stop over and breeding site for migratory birds.
The reserve
Laguna Grande Sarstún
Total size supported by WLT: 1,668 acres (675 ha)
The property is located right at the centre of the largest contiguous riparian forest on the Guatemalan side of the Rio Sarstún, in an area that encompasses a unique system of lagoons, mangroves, inundated forests, lowland forests, and karstic mountain forests between sea level and 385m.
FUNDAECO aim to provide alternative employment and income generating opportunities for the local Q´eqchí communities located south of the Reserve, thus reducing the long term possibilities of encroachment for illegal resource extraction.
Local people are very much part of this project and FUNDAECO are working closely with the nearest community to the Reserve, where they are carrying out two development projects: Training of Q’eqchí women as tourism caterers; and aquaculture of native species of fish with local fishermen.
Sir David Attenborough, WLT Patron
