The business of PFB on the RBCMA is conservation of tropical forest.

Since its inception, PFB has secured 260,000 acres of forest in northwestern Belize that was otherwise destined for clearance. The RBCMA represents approximately 4% of Belize's total land area and is home to a rich sample of biodiversity which includes: 400 species of birds, 200 species of trees, 70 species of mammals and 12 endangered animal species. On the RBCMA, PFB conducts research, conservation education, professional training and promotes environmental awareness amongst visitors.

Approximately half of the RBCMA is managed as a strict nature reserve for the protection of biodiversity and natural habitats. National parks and reserves as islands in a sea of agriculture are not, however, adequate responses on their own to the issue of tropical forest conservation. PFB is therefore developing viable economic land uses that leave the forest and its environmental values intact. These projects are carried out in the buffer zone surrounding the protected core area, creating a reserve design based on Man and Biosphere Reserve principles. Examples of these projects include tourism and forestry. PFB has established two field stations on the RBCMA. The La Milpa Field Station is a center of visitation, archaeology and environmental education. The Hill Bank Field Station is a center of research activities and visitation.

PFB is committed to the goal of earning sufficient revenue from its economic activities to support the conservation of the RBCMA. To this end, PFB has conducted major research on the land and its resources to arrive at the sustainable plans outlined below. Due to our progress in the past five years, we were able to support 60% of the operating costs of the organization through ecotourism in the current fiscal year. PFB's level of self-sustainability will continue to rise provided that adequate funding is available for the research and development of the following revenue-earning projects.

The primary focus of our tourism is environmental education and nondestructive human-nature interaction. Our vision is to provide visitors with an enlightening yet low-impact experience in the rainforest. Through this tourism development, PFB aims to provide environmentally-sound economic alternatives to the villages surrounding the RBCMA. Presently, we encourage local artisans and cultural groups and include excursions to the villages in the travel itineraries of our visitors. Under proper and sensitive management, this will become a significant and sustainable source of revenue for PFB and surrounding villages. To promote and market our ecotourism facilities and services most effectively, PFB has established a Tourism Development Unit. This unit functions as a tour operator, offering receptive services, and having the capacity to design and conduct tours to either field stations on the RBCMA and elsewhere in Belize. To date, visitors, including tourists, researchers, and students, have been accommodated mainly at the La Milpa Field Station on the RBCMA. The establishment of the Hill Bank Field Station has opened up another, entirely different visitor experience on the RBCMA. The Hill Bank Field Station was established in 1996 as a research base for sustainable economic forest management and specialized tourism that incorporates these research activities into its program. The facilities offer a perfect location for applied studies in the areas of natural resource management, tourism, natural sciences, economic development, social studies and others.

Timber is one of the most important forest products and, technically, it is possible to manage sustainable extraction without compromising environmental values. In reality, however, there are very few practical examples of such management around the world. PFB is addressing this complex and controversial issue on the RBCMA by conducting experimental operations to find the optimal approach. PFB's forestry programs include experiments, pilot trials at an operational scale and rigorous monitoring of impacts. These activities are conducted in the Hill Bank area, in a special zone covering less than 20% of the RBCMA and buffering the fully protected core that constitutes the majority of the area. The operation is subjected to annual external audit and the timber is certified by SmartWood and WoodMark under the rules of the Forest Stewardship Council. This act is an assurance to the PFB, its many supporters and purchasers of is timber products, that RBCMA timber operations are of the highest environmental quality. Through this Experimental Timber Programme, the PFB is helping resuscitate an industry that literally created the nation of Belize and sustained it over much of its life. Once a practical approach has been developed, the intent is to promote its adoption beyond the RBCMA boundaries to help conserve forests in the wider national and international landscapes.

The PFB, The Nature Conservancy and a consortium of utility companies have joined as partners to develop an innovative project on the RBCMA. This project involves a combination of environmental protection, sustainable forestry and economic development. This pilot project is being undertaken to demonstrate how forest conservation can assist in combating global warming. This project should serve as a model that can be applied elsewhere. Implementation of the Carbon Sequestration Pilot Project commenced in October 1995 on the RBCMA, making it the first of seven globally approved projects to start work on the ground.

One of the main objectives of the RBCMA is that it should serve as a research area for the fields of ecology, archaeology and forest management. The purpose of the research is to deepen the understanding of the ecological processes and the nature of the area, both for its own sake and as a basis for management and resource use. From an early date, archaeological and ecological research programs were established on the RBCMA.

La Milpa is one of 60 Maya sites so far located on the RBCMA, and is the subject of a long-term archaeological survey being undertaken by Boston University. The La Milpa Archaeological Site is the third largest ancient Maya site in Belize and is located only three miles from the La Milpa Field Station. The ceremonial center is built on a high limestone ridge and, with more than 24 courtyards and over 85 structures, is in the top most rank of Mayan sites. The University of Texas has been conducting archaeological surveys on all other sites located on the RBCMA. Through such work we expect to learn much more of how the ancient Maya civilization evolved, was organized and sustained, and why most of its centers eventually collapsed throughout the region.

With only a small area of about the size of Massachusetts, Belize has an avifauna of more than 540 species of birds. The RBCMA is home to 392 species of the country's total avifauna. Of the birds found on the RBCMA, about 25% are migrants which either breed in North America and winter in Belize or breed in Belize and winter in other parts of Central and South America. Unfortunately, in Belize, like in other parts of the Americas, destruction and fragmentation of forests are placing the survival of both resident and migratory birds at great risk. PFB has responded to this problem by partnership with The Nature Conservancy's Wings of the Americas (Wings) program. This partnership has created a direct linkage between the RBCMA and the Lucille Durrell Edge of Appalachia Preserve System in Ohio, US. The objective of this partnership is to protect over 530 species of birds and their critical habitats as well as to conduct research and monitoring of both migratory and resident birds.

Whereas our immediate concerns must be with land acquisition, protection and development of economically and ecologically viable activities, the ultimate success of environmental projects globally, will only be attained by winning long-term commitment to non-destructive human-nature interaction. To ensure realization of this vision, PFB expends much energy and resources on community and education outreach in the villages surrounding the RBCMA and throughout the country.

Although there are no human settlements currently located on the lands comprising the RBCMA, PFB makes a particular effort to involve other Belizeans in our economic projects wherever possible. We concentrate on the villages surrounding the RBCMA. So far, PFB has assisted in the establishment of several cultural groups. Handicrafts made by these groups are sold to visitors of the RBCMA. PFB also extends assistance of these groups in honing their craftsmanship as well as their skills by coordinating with other organizations or groups in the country for training. As tourism and forestry develop further, job opportunities for each of these projects will increase, providing much needed employment to the area. PFB's community outreach efforts have expanded with the implementation of two new projects - the Northern Belize Biological Corridors and Agroforestry Projects. The Northern Belize Biological Corridors Project (NBBCP) seeks to facilitate the creation of a biological corridor, within Belize's protected areas network, which will foster undisturbed movements of flora and fauna in Northern Belize. Understanding that the success of the project is dependent on the commitment to nondestructive human-nature interaction of communities bordering the biological corridor, the NBBCP has earmarked US$0.4 million over a three-year period to community-based initiatives in Northern Belize. The community development initiatives will center around projects which contribute to the establishment and future management of the biological corridors. The primary aim of PFB's Agroforestry Project is to enhance the socio-economic welfare of farming households in the northern plains of Belize, in terms of greater food security, cash income and natural resources, by improving indigenous agroforestry systems. Working with a total of five communities initially, activities of this project include establishing tree nurseries for plant propagation, training farmers and monitoring social, economic and environmental indicators such as net family income and deforestation rates.

The commitment of future generations to environmental ethics can best be secured through directed environmental education programs which teach our children to respect their human and natural environments. To this end, PFB has implemented various educational initiatives. PFB runs workshops for teachers in the neighbouring villages to assist them in incorporating environmental science into their curricula, and visits schools to conduct ecology-related educational exercises. PFB also subsidizes trips for, and delivers lectures and presentations on environmental topics to secondary and tertiary level students from all areas of Belize. There are more than 500 students visiting the RBCMA annually. PFB reaches international students by hosting 'Save the Rainforest' courses which include one week of forest ecology and one week of marine biology for a mixture of approximately 300 international and 30 Belizean students per year. The merit of these efforts has encouraged us to expand our outreach programs to benefit more Belizeans economically and to touch the hearts and minds of more students nationally and internationally. Outreach remains a priority component of all our activities.

Since its inception ion 1988, the Programme for Belize's work has charted new courses, both locally and internationally, in areas of conservation and sustainable development. To continue this work, your support is both necessary and important to us. For contributions to Programme for Belize, contact us.

• MR. ARSENIO BURGOS MBA, CA
  Financial Controller, Cisco Construction
  CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
• MR. EDILBERTO ROMERO
  Executive Director, Programme for Belize
• MRS. MOLLY GUYDIS
  Community Representative
• MS. DIANA LOCKE
  Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• MRS. AMANDA BURGOS ACOSTA
  Lecturer, University College of Belize
• MR. WILBER SABIDO
  Representative, Ministry of Natural Resources
• MR. ARTEMIO OSORIO
  Representative, Ministry of Finance
• MR. PAUL HUNT
  Tourism Representative

The Board of Directors of Programme ffor Belize is assisted by three committees, comprised of Board members and non-Board members. These advisory committees are the Land Management Committee, the Economic Development Committee, and the Finance and Administration Committee.