A stretch of rainforest in Belize that allows wildlife to pass freely between protected areas is under threat of deforestation, and conservationists are scrambling to contain the damage. Mennonites, a highly conservative Christian sect, own thousands of acres of rainforest that currently make up part of the Maya Forest Corridor, but plans to clear it for farming and quarrying could sever the connection and weaken local ecosystems, critics say. “Wildlife disperse and move in order for them to survive,” Betsy Mallory, scientific adviser for the Belize Zoo and Tropical Education Center, said at a public consultation in June. “They need populations. They need to breed. They need to find mates.” The Maya Forest Corridor spans approximately 37,000 hectares (91,000 acres) and is the last section of forest connecting some of the most biodiverse protected areas in the country, the Belize Maya Forest and Maya Mountains Massif. The protected areas are made up of tropical forests, savannas, wetlands and cave systems that provide habitats for animals like jaguars (Panthera onca) and Baird’s tapirs (Tapirus bairdii), among others. There are also Maya artifacts in the area. The corridor isn’t one contiguous conservation area, but rather a collection of smaller protected areas and private property. In recent years, environmental groups like the Maya Forest Corridor Trust and Re:wild have tried to buy up as much private land as they can, including a 12,100-hectare (30,000-acre) stretch of forest in 2021 for $21.5 million. But other acquisitions haven’t always gone to plan. In 2022, one crucial…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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