THE SITUATION WITH MAHOGANY IN BELIZE - SICA

Diagnóstico de la Caoba(Swietenia macrophylla King)

en Mesoamérica

Belize

1999

Diagnóstico de la caoba(Swietenia macrophylla King)

en Mesoamérica

Belize

Oscar Rosado

Centro Científico Tropical

1999

PROARCA/CAPAS

ACERCA DE ESTA PUBLICACIÓN

Esta publicación y el trabajo descrito en ella fueron financiados por laAgencia de Estados Unidos para el Desarrollo Internacional (USAID) en elcontexto de CONCAUSA, la declaración Conjunta Centroamérica – EstadosUnidos (Miami, octubre de 1994) sobre la conservación del ambiente enCentroamérica. Las opiniones e ideas presentadas aquí no sonnecesariamente respaldadas por USAID, ni representan sus políticas oficiales.

ABOUT THIS PUBLICATION

This publication and the work described in it were funded by the U.S. Agencyfor International Development (USAID) in the context of CONCAUSA, the JointCentral America – USA declaration (Miami, October 1994) on conservation ofthe environment in Central America. The views and ideas presented here arenot necessarily endorsed by USAID, nor do they represent USAID’s officialpolicies.

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INDEX

I. Introduction ............................................................................................1

2. Physical Features ..................................................................................1

2.1 Geography...........................................................................................................12.2 Geology ...............................................................................................................22.3 Soils .....................................................................................................................22.4 Climate.................................................................................................................32.5 Flora.....................................................................................................................32.6 Forest Cover........................................................................................................42.7 Deforestation .......................................................................................................6

3. Occurrence and Distribution of Mahogany in Belize ..........................6

3.1 Original Occurrence and Distribution ..................................................................63.2 Actual Occurrence and Distribution.....................................................................9

4. Historical Summary of Exploitation and Conservation........................13

5. Legal and Institutional Regulatory Framework .................................15

5.1 The Legal Framework .......................................................................................155.2 The Forest Act ...................................................................................................165.3 The Private Forests (Conservation) Act 1945...................................................175.4 The Forest Fire Protection Act 1962 .................................................................175.5 The National Parks System Act 1981 ...............................................................185.6 Other Related Legislation..................................................................................18

6. The Institutional Framework ...............................................................19

6.1 The Forest Department .....................................................................................196.2 Programme for Belize........................................................................................206.3 Belize Enterprise for Sustained Technology (BEST) ........................................206.4 The Belize Audubon Society .............................................................................216.5 Other NGO’s......................................................................................................216.6 Forest Policy......................................................................................................21

7. Analysis of Legislation and Institutional Aspects.............................23

8. Role of Disturbance in Relation to Mahogany...................................24

9. System of Exploitation ........................................................................25

10. Production and Trade..........................................................................25

10.1 Sawmills...........................................................................................................2810.2 Conservation Status ........................................................................................30

11. Promising Sustainable Management Options...................................31

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11.1 Forest Reserves ..............................................................................................3111.2 Private Land ....................................................................................................3211.3 Plantations.......................................................................................................33

12. Critical Aspects Threatening the Species..........................................34

12.1 IlIegal Logging .................................................................................................3412.3 Cutting Undersized Trees................................................................................3412.4 Chain saw Lumber Conversion .......................................................................3412.5 Proliferation of Sawmills ..................................................................................3512.6 Proliferation of Licenses..................................................................................3512.7 Conflict with Groups ........................................................................................3512.8 Users of Mahogany .........................................................................................3612.9 Impact of Fires and Hurricanes .......................................................................36

13. Discussion............................................................................................37

Bibliography ................................................................................................41

Appendix I ....................................................................................................42

Forest Policy of British Honduras ............................................................................42

Appendix 2...................................................................................................45

Draft Forest Policy 1994 ..........................................................................................45

Appendix 3...................................................................................................49

List of Sawmills ........................................................................................................49

Appendix 4...................................................................................................52

List of protected areas with mahogany. ..................................................................52

Appendix 5...................................................................................................53

INTERVIEWS ..........................................................................................................53

Appendix 6...................................................................................................62

List of contacts.........................................................................................................62

Appendix 7...................................................................................................64

Maps ........................................................................................................................64

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INDEX OF TABLES

Table 1. Area and percentage of Belize's mainland per Forest Class, LIC (1994). ....5

Table 2. Major Vegetation Assemblage of Belize on the occurrence of Mahogany....8

Table 3. Areas of Broadleaf Forest in Belize. ............................................................10

Table 4. Broadleaf forest inventories 1969-1981.......................................................10

Table 5. Estimates of mahogany densities and volumes in Belize............................11

Table 6. Mahogany occurrence in PSP(1 ha plots). ..................................................12

Table 7. Mahogany Production 1989-1990 (000 cu ft) ..............................................26

Table 8. Domestic Consumption of Mahogany 1989-1998. ......................................27

Table 9. Exports of Mahogany 1989-1998.................................................................27

INDEX OF MAPS

Map 1. Location of Belize. ..........................................................................................65

Map 2. Major Land Forms and Soil Features of Belize..............................................66

Map 3. Original Distribution of Mahogany in Belize. ..................................................67

Map 4. Actual Distribution of Mahogany in Belize......................................................68

Map 5. Map showing locations of Permanent Sample Plots......................................69

Map 6. Belize Protected Areas...................................................................................70

Map 7. Sawmill Locations in Belize. ...........................................................................71

Map 8. Protective Status of Hypothetical Current Mahogany Forests in Belize. .......72

Diagnóstico de la caoba en Mesoamérica, Belize CCT

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THE SITUATION OF MAHOGANY IN BELIZE

I. Introduction

The Central American Commission on Environment and Development(CCAD) of which Belize is a member, through its Executive Secretariat,requested the PROARCA/CAPAS Project whose headquarters is inGuatemala City, to carry out a study on the actual situation with respect toMahogany from southern Mexico to Panama including Belize. The project isfunded by USAID.

This report covers the situation in Belize, taking into considerationaspects as the original and actual existence, occurrence and distribution ofMahogany; a historical summary of exploitation and conservation; the systemof exploitation; production and trade, the legal and institutional regulatoryframework; the conservation status; and options for sustainablemanagement.

Brief geographical, geological and other physical features, and otherrelevant information on Belize are included at the beginning to place it in theregional context.

2. Physical Features

2.1 Geography

Belize is situated in northeastern Central America, boarded by Mexicoin the north, by Guatemala on the west and south and by the Caribbean Seato the east (Map 1). Including its territorial waters, Belize´s geographiccoordinates are 15°53' to 18°30' North Latitude and 87°15' to 89°15' WestLongitude. Using an offshore territorial limit of 20 km, the national territorycovers about 46,620 square kilometers of which 49% is land. Belize´slandmass includes 1065 islands, some of them very small, off the mainlandcoast, the barrier reef and atoll system totaling some 690 square kilometers. There are about 1540 square kilometers of lagoons on the mainland,reducing effective land area to some 21751 square kilometers.


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The average dimensions of the Belize rectangle are about 260kilometers north to south, and 180 kilometers east to west, and has 280kilometers of coastline along the mainland.

2.2 Geology

Belizean geology is largely a study on limestone except for the MayaMountains. The northern half of the country consists of heterogeneoussediments deposited on the Yucatan Platform, containing limestone, chalk,marl and other sedimentary layers.

The Maya Mountains in south - central Belize, evolved from a large up-faulted block of intrusive granite and metamorphosed sedimentary rocks. Theoldest rocks in Belize are found in the Maya Mountains, which rise to about1124 meters at Doyle’s Delight, the highest point in Belize.

Additional limestone formations and an area of sedimentary rocks arefound south of the mountains in the Toledo District. The Coastal Plain iscomposed of detritus materials derived from the western uplands and isabout 50 kilometers wide in some areas north of the Belize River, reducingconsiderably, hardly present at Deep River in the southeast.

2.3 Soils

Soils have been grouped to confirm with the boundaries of the sevenprincipal landforms recognized in mainland Belize. These are given below:

1. Siliceous soils of the Mountain Pine Ridge;2. Siliceous soils of the Maya Mountains;3. Siliceous soils of the Lowland Pine Ridge;4. Calcareous soils of karst landscapes;5. Calcareous soils of the Northern Lowlands;6. Tertiary mudstones, shales and sandstones of the Toledo lowlands;7. Littoral complex of organic soils and dune sands.

These are further subdivided into soil sub-units and soil series in theoriginal classification. The percentages of Belize these occupy are given inMap 2 and can be summarized as follows: Siliceous Soils 37.3%, CalcareousSoils 50.7%, and the last two groups 12%.


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2.4 Climate

The northern latitudes given for Belize indicate that it lies in the outertropics or subtropical geographic belt which have higher extreme and meantemperatures than which occur in tropical latitudes (0-13°). The highest andlowest recorded temperatures are 42.8°C (109°F) in the Sibun Hills and3.3°C (38°F) at Punta Gorda in December.

Mean monthly minimum temperature range from 16-17°C in the coolermonths to 24-25°C in the hotter months. In Belize City, the mean maximumand mean minimum annual temperatures are 29.9 and 22.1°C respectively. These are typical of the lowlands. In the Mountain Pine Ridge comparablefigures are 24.8 and 17.9°C. These figures are from a location 1600 feetabove sea level.

Trade winds blow from the east and southeast between February andSeptember and cooler winds blow from the north. Northeast air masses areoccasionally pushed far to the south from November to February by arctic airmasses. Temperatures are cooler at night in the higher regions.

Rainfall ranges from 1347 millimeters (mm) (53") per year in the northto 4526 millimeters (178") per year at Barranco south of Punta Gorda. Relative humidity varies between 80 to 90 percent in the coastal lowlands. There is a dry season from February to May and a short dry season (lessrainy) period usually in August.

Two climatic events that impact Belizean forests are long dry seasonsand hurricanes. Prolonged dry seasons which are characterized by lowrelative humidity allows ideal conditions in which human and lighteningcaused fires can advance rapidly with devastating effects to the forests.

Belize has a history of the devastating effects of hurricanes causingconsiderable damage to populated and forested areas. In any 100 yearperiod, the Belize Meteorological service predicts that 33 tropical storms orhurricanes will strike Belize, with hurricanes expected once every six or sevenyears. With Hurricane Mitch in 1998 threatening but sparing Belize, thelongest recorded period between hurricanes striking Belize has been the 20year period from 1978 to 1998.

2.5 Flora

The flora of Belize has been variously listed, described and classified


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at different times. Standley and Record (1936) were the first to documentthis work in the Forests and Flora of British Honduras. Wright -et-al (1959)classified the vegetation into 18 major types, and through subdivisions, into77 units in Land in British Honduras. Hartshorn-et-al (1984) appliedHoldridge’s Life Zone System to provide a framework to subdivide thecountry into six ecological life zones: (1) Subtropical moist forest; (2)Subtropical Lower Montane moist forest; (3) Subtropical wet forest; (4)Subtropical Lower Montane wet forest; (5) Tropical moist forest; and (6)Tropical wet forest, in the Belize Country Environmental Profile.

More recently Iremonger and Brokaw (1996) based on a systemadopted by UNESCO, classified the vegetation on grounds of physiognomy,into forest, scrub and herbaceous formations in the National Protected AreasSystem Plan for Belize. A total of 49 vegetation types were identified.

It is estimated that there are around 4000 native flowering plants inBelize of which 2500 are dicots and 1500 are monocots as given by Dywerand Spellman (1981). Recent figures from the Forest Department Herbariumindicate that the known number of species in Belize is 3409 with 1219 generain 207 families.

The major vegetation types grow on particular landforms and soils. The siliceous soils of the Mountain Pine Ridge and the lowland Pine Ridgessupport pine forests and shrub lands. Mangroves and coastal vegetationtypes grow in the organic soils of the littoral zone. In land swamps andmarshes are concentrated in low lands along the Hondo, Booths, New River,the Belize and Sarstoon River. The remainder of Belize is covered bybroadleaf forests varying in structure and species composition.

2.6 Forest Cover

The figure given for forest cover, which is synonymous with totalforestland given decades earlier, shows a declining figure. In 1971 the figurewas 95.9%, and in 1984 the figure was 93%. Based on a 1989/1992 landuse report, which was issued in 1994, the figure is 79%. The table belowillustrates the situation at present.


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Table 1. Area and percentage of Belize's mainland per Forest Class, LIC(1994).

Forest Class Area (has) Area (acs) Area(sq km)

Percentageof Land

Area

Broadleaf Forest 1,419,000 3,503,704 14,190.00 65.12

Open broadleaf forest 12,031 29,705 120.31 0.55

Pine forest 57,625 142,283 576.25 2.64

Open pine forest 7,307 18,041 73.07 0.34

Thicket and otherdegenerated broadleafforest

84,838 209,477 848.38 3.89

Herbaceous and Scrub,secondary growth afterclearing

18,859 46,564 188.59 0.87

Bamboo and Riparianvegetation

11,527 28,462 115.22 0.53

Coastal Strand Vegetation 2,483 6,131 24.83 0.11

Mangrove, Medium & Tall 7,820 19,308 78.20 0.36

Mangrove, Dwarf 23,460 57,925 234.60 1.08

Saline swamp vegetationwith palmetto andmangrove

34,487 85,152 344.87 1.58

Marsh swamp 41,963 103,613 419.63 1.93

Total of Forested Areas 1,721,398 4,250,366 17,213.98 79.00


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2.7 Deforestation

The 1984 Belize Country Environmental Profile said that deforestationwas not a major issue in Belize, but as the figures in forest cover indicate,this figure has been reversed from almost 97% in 1971 to the present 79% inabout 30 years. Until a study on deforestation in Belize 1989/92 - 1994/96was conducted, only then was deforestation recognized as very significant.

From the 1989/92 baseline period to 1994, approximately 78,100 ha offorest and associated woodland cover was cleared. More than 90% of thetotal losses in forest cover (>70,000 ha) occurred outside protected areas. That any loss should have occurred in protected areas is still alarming.

Most losses in forest cover are due to agricultural developmentranging from large citrus orchards, to mixed farming and cropland, to smallindividually but cumulatively large areas of milpa farming. There has been asubstantial increase in the rate of clearing of forest and associatedwoodlands over the past two to five years (25,000 ha/yr.) relative topreviously published estimates (5,000 - 9,000 ha/yr.) over the past decade(1981-1990).

There is need to put a moratorium on conversion of forest areas. Anyfurther developments requiring land should ensure that previously clearedunused areas are sought out exhaustively before any new areas areconsidered.

3. Occurrence and Distribution of Mahogany in Belize

3.1 Original Occurrence and Distribution

Although there were separate sporadic reports about the occurrenceof Mahogany in specific areas in Belize in the 1920s and 1930s, it was notuntil the 1950s when a vegetation classification for Belize was done under aland use study, that Mahogany was specifically mentioned as occurring asspare to abundant in the following forest types, which at that time occupiedabout 55% of Belize (Map 3):


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- deciduous seasonal forest on limestone- semi evergreens forest on limestonebroadleaf forest with lime species, and- tall transitional broadleaf forest.

In the remainder of the forest types classified as follows:

- transitional low broadleaf forestshrub land with pinepine forest and orchard savannah- marsh communities - mangrove and littoral forests- cohune palm forest.

Mahogany was not specifically noted, except in two of the types above. Inone assemblage of transitional low broadleaf type, mahogany is mentionedas very rare and usually entirely absent. In one assemblage of the PineForest and orchard savanna type which covers all the flattish and undulatingpart of the Mountain Pine Ridge where remnants of the limestone sheet ispresent, Mahogany is mentioned as occurring less than one to ten acres(Wright and others 1959).

Weaver and Sabido (1997) present the following table based on theabove information:


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Table 2. Major Vegetation Assemblage of Belize on the occurrence ofMahogany.

Vegetation Assemblage Average treeheight m

Land Area km2

Major commercial mahogany forests

Broadleaf forest rich in lime-loving species Deciduous seasonal forest on limestone Semi-evergreen forests on limestoneBroadleaf forest moderately rich in lime-lovingspeciesBroadleaf forest with occasional lime-lovingspecies High evergreen seasonal forest High semi evergreen seasonal forestBroadleaf forest with few or no lime lovingspecies Evergreen seasonal forest Semi evergreen seasonal forestTransitional broadleaf forest Medium-high deciduous forest rich in limeloving species Medium-high semi evergreen seasonal forestpoor in lime loving species Medium-high evergreen seasonal poor in lime-loving speciesTOTAL

15-3024-3730-37

27-3727-37

21-3021-30

21-2721-27

21-27

5542818323

354547

8561786

4421382

493

12542

Mahogany minor or non-commercial

Transitional low broadleaf forestShrub land with pinePine forests and orchard savannasMarsh and swamp communitiesCoastal formations mangroves and littoralforestsCohune palm forestSUB-TOTALOther landsTOTAL (land area of Belize)

989184241528961026124787571668

22967

Source: Weaver and Sabido 1997.


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The division given as commercial and non-commercial mahoganyforest is fully justified as in the former case, in all the vegetation assemblagesmahogany has been specifically mentioned as occurring, while in the lattercase, only in two of the vegetation assemblages is mahogany specificallymentioned.

3.2 Actual Occurrence and Distribution

From the above review, it is evident that Mahogany occurs in broadleafforests, the typical plant cover on moderately fertile, freely draining soils inBelize (Map 4).

This of course, is only where broadleaf vegetation is still in existence. Where deforestation has taken place to change the land use, mahoganydoes not exist. This has occurred in the northern districts where sugar caneis the prominent crop. This is also the case where other agricultural activitieshave taken place, such as in Little Belize in the Corozal District, in the BlueCreek area for cattle and rice production and in the Shipyard area both in theOrange Walk district. The situation is similar in the Cayo District where citrusand cattle activities are on going. In the south part of the country, citrus andbananas are replacing large areas of broadleaf forests. In addition to this,there is the milpa type farming which goes on every year in most districts ofBelize.

There is no national or whole country forest inventory, which couldgive the actual situation with mahogany today. What there is consists of sixdistinct inventories carried out in Belize between 1969 to 1981. These havebeen re-analyzed and synthesized and reworked in a report prepared underthe Forest Planning and Management Project, Ministry of Natural Resources,Belize.

In the report (Alder, 1993) GIS information has been used to identifybroadleaf areas outside existing clearances and the following table has beenproduced:


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Table 3. Areas of Broadleaf Forest in Belize.

CATEGORY Km2 TOTAL Km2 %

Protected broadleaf forest National Parks Wildlife sanctuaries, etc Forest Reserves, slopes>25�

1011873

26164500 20.7

Timber Production areas Forest Reserves, slopes >25�Forested National LandsForested Private Lands

9651087981

3033 14.0

Total Broadleaf forest 7533 34.7

Belize Land area 21694 100.0

The six inventories referred to and reworked to produce national estimates ofthe forest resource including mahogany are given in the following table withrelevant information about the inventories.

Table 4. Broadleaf forest inventories 1969-1981.

Forest Inventory Year Transectsize(km)

Numberof

Transect

Areakm2

Chiquibul main series 1969 8 24 768

Chiquibul mountain series 1971 5 17 200

Columbia/Maya Mountains 1975 5 34 425

Hillbank (Belize estates) 1975 3.6-6 31 988

Cockscomb Basin 1978 4 24 240

Deep River 1981 2 14 28

TOTAL 144 2649


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It was necessary to post-stratify the pooled set of 144 inventorytransects by vegetation types using Wright’ss vegetation maps as the basisfor stratification. It was also necessary to define pooled vegetation types,which were called Provisional Vegetation Groups (PVGs) such that eachPVG that comprised broadleaf forest included two or more transects.

In the end, applying the 40 year felling cycle and 60 cm diameterminimum felling limit recommended as the management criteria for broadleafforests, a final annual allowable cut of 6041m3 (213307 cu ft) was arrived atfor mahogany.

It should be noted that from the same report, Weaver and Sabido(1997) have converted figures given, to a per hectare basis, and haveproduced the following which is only a section of their original table presentedhere:

Table 5. Estimates of mahogany densities and volumes in Belize.

Location of Survey Size(ha)

Volumem3/ha

DensityStems/ha

Source

Forest Reserves: Chiquibul,Columbia Maya Mountains (1969-75) > 20 cm d.b.h. > 40 cm d.b.h. > 60 cm d.b.h.

965004.21.0.6

5.9.4.1

Alder 1993

Forested National Lands: DeepRiver Cockscomb (1978-81) > 20 cm d.b.h. > 40 cm d.b.h. > 60 cm d.b.h.

1087004.71.51.1

6.0.5.2

Alder 1993

Forested Private Lands: BEC(1975) > 20 cm d.b.h. > 40 cm d.b.h. > 60 cm d.b.h.

5.71.71.1

7.4.6.2

Alder 1993

In another report (Bird 1998) 30 permanent sample plots (psp) wereestablished by random methods in hardwood forest. The plot locations areshown on attached Map 5 and the following table summarizes the occurrenceof Mahogany by diameter classes in the one-hectare plots established.


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Table 6. Mahogany occurrence in PSP (1 ha plots).

PSP NO No. Of Individuals in Stem Diam. classes (cm) Total

10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70-79

1 7 3 1 0 0 0 0 11

2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

9 5 5 4 0 0 1 0 15

10 1 5 6 0 0 0 0 12

11 4 3 1 0 0 0 0 8

12 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1

13 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 5

14 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 4

15 12 16 11 4 0 0 0 43

16 8 8 5 0 1 0 0 22

17 13 4 3 3 0 0 0 23

18 5 2 4 0 0 0 0 11

19 6 4 5 2 0 0 0 17

20 5 5 2 1 3 0 0 16

21 11 8 3 0 1 0 0 23

22 3 5 4 2 2 0 0 16

23 3 4 3 0 0 0 0 10

24 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0


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PSP NO No. Of Individuals in Stem Diam. classes (cm) Total25 10 2 0 0 0 0 0 12

26 5 3 3 0 0 0 0 11

27 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

28 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

29 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 3

30 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

TOTALS 107 82 55 12 7 1 1 265

These plots were established in 1992 and do indicate the occurrenceof Mahogany, and its distribution and density. There are very few stems ofmerchantable size, the bulk of the stocking being in the smaller diameterclasses. Out of the total of 30 plots, 21 of them contain mahogany, a fairlysignificant statistic.

4. Historical Summary of Exploitation and Conservation

In accordance with the terms of reference, this section includeshistorical information on exploitation and conservation. Mahoganyexploitation was started in northern Belize where harvesting was limited torivers and streams, using these as a means of floating them to the mouth ofthe Belize River.

This was given impetus by the mahogany trade in Europe, whichstarted around 1755, and by 1771 had become the country´s chief product. Itshould be mentioned that this activity was not recognized by Spain until 1783covering only the area between the Belize River to the Rio Hondo. Threeyears later, these limits were extended southward to the Sibun River. It wasnot until 1798 that exploitation of Mahogany was extended southward to theSarstoon River after the Battle of St. George’s Caye. This was when Spainwas finally defeated and what had been merely a timber concessiongrudgingly granted by the Spanish, developed into an independent countrywith an economy based almost entirely on mahogany exploitation.


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The exploitation of mahogany was intensified with the introduction ofslave labor from Jamaica to haul logs and again after 1800 with theintroduction of oxen.

In the early 1800's logging advanced south along the rivers but notinland. With the advent of railroads and later tractors additional areas wereopened up in the early 20th century. Major logging operations were delayedin the south and southwest until all-purpose roads and heavy loggingequipment appeared after World War II.

In 1886, Mr. E.D.M. Hooper of the Indian Forest Department visitedBelize and prepared a report recommending the formation of a forestdepartment. Thanks to his report, some interesting historical information washanded down concerning exports of mahogany as given below:

1802 2,280,000 bd ft 1845 10,000,000 bd ft1803 4,500,000 bd ft 1846 13,750,000 bd ft1804 6,481,000 bd ft 1860 7, 500,000 bd ft1805 6,500,000 bd ft 1870 2,750,000 bd ft1820 3,000,000 bd ft 1874 6,000,000 bd ft1824 6,481,000 bd ft 1878 3,125,000 bd ft1837 8,500,000 bd ft 1880 2,125,000 bd ft

From the early days, the method of locating trees in the forest was tosend experienced hunters who roamed the land during the late part of theyear before the next dry season looking for Mahogany trees. They noted themahogany trees locations, marked and cut trails to be used for extractiononce the trees were felled and thus knew the number of trees available in thearea for next seasons work. Invariably, trees were missed by this methodand thus conserved by remaining in the forest once the operations moved on.

Later one large private estate cruised mahogany using a mile squaregrid with north - south lines lettered and east - west lines numbered forsubsequent location of timber. In the middle 50's in one government reservetrees were hunted by a gang of seven men, each separated by about a chainapart, who traversed a swathe of forest starting from a cut line as a base,noting the locations and size of trees, releasing those of the legal girth sizeand thus arriving at the numbers of trees available for harvest.

Early logging operations in Belize were complicated by many factorsincluding, isolation, weather, labor difficulties and transportation problems. Logging was carried out during the short dry season and in some areas thishas not changed except where suitable roads have been constructed andmaintained.


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Mahogany trees were felled above buttress requiring the use ofscaffolding to reach above the buttress which resulted in losses of up to threemeters or more of the best timber. Once felled, the trees were crosscut intologs by two men using eight-foot handsaws. Now a days the trees are muchsmaller and chainsaws are used for bucking or cross-cutting into logs.

As already mentioned, floating rafts of mahogany logs was the originalmode of transporting them to the point of shipping. This was later replacedwith the use of railways, and much later with the advent of the tractor for theconstruction of roads and hauling logs, road transport was introduced. Thishas replaced all previous methods and the railways have long been removed.

Once road construction was possible this opened up previouslyinaccessible areas, which until then had numerous large, well-distributedMahogany trees within previously exploited forests. These had survivedbecause they were invariably missed during hunting operations, or becausethey had butt rot, or because their large size exceeded the capacity of theextraction method at the time. Previous loggers left them in the forest wherethey were incidentally conserved and served as seed trees.

Apart from the above, early control of trees utilized were by way ofmarket requirement. Only trees that could render the required size ofsquared logs (38 cm) for shipment would be cut. Later with the introductionof legislation, minimum girth limits for felling mahogany were introduced.

5. Legal and Institutional Regulatory Framework

5.1 The Legal Framework

The principal forest legislation which regulates the forestry sector andfunction in relation to the conservation and commercialization of mahoganyare the following: The Forest Act, The Private Forests (Conservation) Act,The Forest Fire Protection Act and the National Parks System Act.


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5.2 The Forest Act

Originally an ordinance which came into effect in 1927, it became anAct in 1980 in the advent of independence in 1981. The Act is supported byForest Rules and other subsidiary legislation. There are frequently issuedStatutory Instruments which set royalty rates, duly create forest reserves, andspecifies minimum felling girth limits.

The Act defines the powers of forest officials and establishes penaltiesfor forest offences and allows for the delegation of powers. It empowers theMinister to apply any of the provisions of the Act to any private land. This hasbeen done in the case of royalties on private land but this has to be passedby the House of Representatives. Presently the rates of royalty on privateland are half that on government land and no royalty is levied on private landunder 100 acres.

Forest Rule 5 - stipulates the types of forest licenses which control thedisposal of forest produce including mahogany on government lands. Theseare:- a forest license for sustained yield working of timber. This shall be in suchform, as the Minister shall determine in each case, although there arestandard forms available.- a forest license not on a sustained yield basis for the working of timber

whether in a salvage area or not.- a forest permit for the working of timber in a salvage area where the royaltyvalue does not exceed one thousand dollars.- a petty permit where the royalty value does not exceed fifty dollars.

Forest Rule 6 - stipulates that the Chief Forest Officer may by notice inthe gazette:(a) advertise for sale by public auction, forest licenses to cut and removeforest produce where only one type of produce is to be extracted (timber); (b)invite tenders for forest licenses.

Forest Rule 6 (2) - stipulates the matters, which must be included inthe Gazette notice. These include the area in which the license is to apply. The provisions of this rule to apply to areas where the extraction of timber isconducive to good forest management.

Forest Rule 7 (1) - empowers the Chief Forest Officer to issue licensesto the person making the highest royalty bid at the auction except where thisis below the rate specified in the Schedule to the Rules. In this case, the


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Chief Forest Officer is required to submit all tenders to the Minister for hisdecision.

In practice, the procedures for the issue of licenses were not adheredto and throughout the last two decades timber harvesting in Belize wascharacterized by an industry operating under a large number of short termlicenses covering small areas, thus fragmenting the areas making sustainablemanagement impossible in many areas. But recently, steps are being takento return to the requirements of the law. The Forest Act has been revisedincluding a revision of the forest license requirements and types. A draft Acthas been waiting to seek Ministerial support by finding the right opportunity topresent it to Cabinet for approval. Already 20 year Forest Managementlicenses have been issued in two reserves, which incorporate area controland a 40-year felling cycle.

5.3 The Private Forests (Conservation) Act 1945

This Act prohibits the felling of any Mahogany or Cedar Tree in anyprivate land without prior approval of a permit from the Chief Forest Officethat authorizes such felling and specifies minimum felling girth limits. In thecase of land clearing for agricultural purposes, no permit is required for treesunder two feet, except that no mahogany or cedar tree may be sold without apermit. The administration of the Act, right of entry of forest officers uponprivate lands, seizure, forfeiture and disposal of trees felled in contraventionof the Act and penalties are specified. It has no provision for the propermanagement of private forests or for any extension services to owners andno concept of sustained yield. These matters are being addressed in therevision of the Act.

5.4 The Forest Fire Protection Act 1962

This Act allows for the preparation and implementation of a fireprotection plan which may be necessary for the prevention of forest fires, orthe extinguishing of such fires in any land held in free hold, grant, prescriptionor any other form of acquisition or lease of national land.

Where landowners fail to comply with fire protection plans, the ChiefForest Officer may enter the land and prepare and implement a fireprotection plan and the owner is obliged under the Act to pay the expensesincurred in execution of the work carried including fire fighting activities.

The Minister is empowered to declare controlled areas where no


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person is permitted to enter or remain in the area without permission of theChief Forest Officer. This could happen when conditions are consideredconducive to forest fires as in extended dry seasons, or after a hurricanewhere there is considerable fuel left on the ground.

A draft Forest Act has been prepared as has been mentioned earlierwhich incorporates the above Act but the Forest Department needs to findthe right moment to get the political support needed to put through theselegislative improvements. The application of this Act helps to protect andconserve mahogany.

5.5 The National Parks System Act 1981

This Act provides for the declaration of more strict conservation areas. It defines four types to be designated, i.e., national parks, wildlifesanctuaries, nature reserves, and national monuments (Map 6). Therelevance of this Act in this study is that no timber extraction is allowed inthese protected areas. Any mahogany existing in these areas, and there is acertain stocking, are fully protected and conserved and are available as seedtrees. On the other hand, previously available timber production areas havebeen locked up thereby reducing the availability of the timber resource to thetimber industry. This has impacted considerably in this area.

5.6 Other Related Legislation

There are a few related Acts which affect the forestry sector andfunction in relation to the conservation and commercialization of mahoganybut are not forest legislation directly.

5.6.1 Income Tax Act

Under section 12 (d) of this Act, a deduction is allowed for any sumexpended on the re-afforestation of any timber land with the view of makinggood any depletion caused by the felling of timber on any such land. Thishas to be to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Income Tax butencourages replanting of mahogany. The Act provides also for deductions ofany sums expended for the repair and replacement of any plant andmachinery used in the reforestation work. Although the above incentives areavailable, there is no known example of this having been taken advantage of.

5.6.2 Customs and Excise Duties Act


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Under Section 23 and advolorem duty of 5% is imposed on the exportof Mahogany lumber and in this way it affects the commercialization ofmahogany.

5.6.3 Stamp Duty Act

Under Section 58 of this Act, a stamp duty is payable on all extractionlicense for mahogany and other products. These are nominal charges butadd up to the cost of doing business.

6. The Institutional Framework

6.1 The Forest Department

The Forest Department presently in the Ministry of Natural Resourcesand the Environment is the government institution responsible for all forestryaspects. This includes implementing forest policy, the management of theForest Estate, the regulation of felling and removal of mahogany and theregulation of the forest industry.

It is also responsible for the conservation and management of landsunder the National Parks System. It delegates the management of some ofthese areas through formal agreements. The Forest Department ismandated the above responsibility and empowered under the variousprincipal Acts already discussed.

The Forest Department has a cadre of professional officers, headedby the Chief Forest Officer who is assisted by the Principal Forest Officers,Forest Officers, and other officers at the lower ranks. These are Foresters,Forest Rangers, Conservation Officers and Forest Guards. All the aboveranks are defined as forest officers under the Forest Act and have thenecessary authority to enforce the forest legislation, including Wildlifelegislation. Besides the above ranks there are ancillary personnel necessaryfor the functioning of the Department including mechanics, clerks, drivers,and other manual workers.


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The need for the strengthening of the Forest Department staffespecially at the lower levels to cope with the necessary monitoring tasks hasbeen pointed out many times by many reports. It is a question of what thecountry can afford, bearing in mind that is has a very low revenue base fromwhich to fund the many other needs of the country.

The Forest Department is made up of various Divisions, both territorialand technical divisions, including a conservation division which has beendelegated the responsibility to administer protected areas under the NationalParks System Act.

6.2 Programme for Belize

A private non-government organization, this NGO is the mostimportant one in Belize in relation to the conservation and management ofmahogany. The overall mission of the Programme for Belize is to assist inthe conservation and economic development of the national resources ofBelize. It manages some 92614 ha of valuable land in north-western Belize,formerly part of the Belize Estate holdings which it exploited for mahoganyuntil they found it uneconomic to continue and sold out the vast track of land. It is now subdivided into three parts of which Programme for Belize ismanaging the top part.

With funding from the Massachusetts Audubon Society and othersources of funds, the above section was purchased and is being managed byProgramme for Belize under a memorandum of understanding with theGovernment of Belize for the people of Belize. It is conducting experimentsin Mahogany regeneration using a method of clear felling a wedge shapearea west of seed trees to allow enough cleared areas where seed canregenerate. It is also involved in sustainable logging in areas zoned for thispurpose and has an agreement with New River Enterprises Ltd. to do all theirlog conversion and value added activities.

6.3 Belize Enterprise for Sustained Technology (BEST)

This NGO is involved in a small project funded by PACT, the ProtectedAreas Conservation Trust that involves Mahogany. It is a small project inagroforestry which raises Mahogany seedlings to plant or reforest schoolgrounds in the Cayo District of Belize. They have prepared a manual aboutthe use and value of trees in the community. Mahogany happens to be theNational Tree symbol of Belize. They are also looking at getting mahogany


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germ plasm from Costa Rica.

6.4 The Belize Audubon Society

One of the first NGO’s in Belize, the Belize Audubon Society has risenin prominence in Belize for its work in conservation. It is included in thisstudy because it is involved in the conservation of Mahogany. It has alreadybeen mentioned that the Forestry Department delegates the management ofsome protected areas under the National Parks System. In these protectedareas mahogany is automatically protected because logging of operationsare not allowed.

The Belize Audubon Society (BAS) manages six protected areasunder formal agreement with the Forest Department.

6.5 Other NGO’s

There are several small NGO’s that have been delegated or are inconsultation with the Forest Department to be delegated management ofprotected areas. These include Friends of Five Blues Lake, Help forProgress, Toledo Institute for Development and Environment (TIDE) andothers. The importance of the available mahogany in protected areas is that ithelps in the conservation of biodiversity and the trees can serve as seedtrees which can be used in the propagation of plantation of the species.

6.6 Forest Policy

From 1921 to 1947, forest policy was guided by the Report on theForests of British Honduras with suggestions for a far-reaching forest policy(Humme 1921). The main points in this report were:

1. The strengthening of the existing forest industries.2. The utilization of secondary hardwoods.3. Increase growth and reproduction of mahogany in selected

areas.4. Building of good roads.5. Collection of information on secondary hardwoods.6. Granting long term licenses to encourage investment and more

efficient exploitation.7. Control burning of selected pine forests.8. Protection and encourage regeneration of rosewood and


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sapodilla.9. Experiment with teak plantations.10. Develop the botanical gardens by planting an arboretum.

In 1947, the first official forest policy was published. This policy placedmore emphasis on the protection of watersheds and mentions theconservation of wildlife. It specifically included the carrying out of timberinventories, the training of staff, the education of the public to a forestconsciousness, and the dissemination of information on forestry and timberto the public. The notable omission was the creation of a forest estate,although at that time several forest reserves were already in existence.

The forest policy as it still exists today was published in 1954. It isreproduced in Appendix I. Officially, this policy statement is still in force untila draft policy statement prepared in 1994 is officially approved and adopted. The intent of this draft policy is to address conservation and environmentalmatters not contained in the 1954 document. This draft policy is reproducedin Appendix II.

In respect to Forest Reserves, the policy has been to place allexploitable reserves under sustained yield management by carrying out forestinventories, the calculation of increment or other practical methods of yieldcontrol, by control of exploitation, and by natural or artificial regeneration andtending operations, so that their yield of timber and other forest produce willbe maintained in perpetuity.

From the beginning, the main difficulty has been implementing theforest policy, because of lack of sufficiently available funds. In spite of this,nothing in the existing policy needs to be cut out as has become evident inthe preparation of the draft revised policy which has used the entire previoustext with minor modifications and additions to reflect the change of times.

Although included in the forest policy, there is no provision in thelegislation for any replanting where deforestation occurs either through overexploitation, or illegal harvesting or other catastrophe.


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7. Analysis of Legislation and Institutional Aspects

It can be seen that there has been early and adequate legislation inplace to regulate forest exploitation, which has been mainly mahoganyexploitation. License types have been defined, procedures for issue oflicenses included, cutting limits instituted, but it has not all been followedaccording to the requirements of the law.

In some cases, the forest legislation does not give the ForestDepartment enough control over the exploitation system and the Departmenthas been unable to deploy all the powers the legislation does provide. Forexample, the forest license for logging allows the Department to direct theloggers to log in a defined part of his license area under some types oflicenses, but this power to define annual coupes and logging blocks were notbeing used or where used were not monitored adequately.

In areas where coupes or blocks are not used, even if the licenseereports his output, the Department cannot associate the output with thespecific parts of the license area and so compare inventory volumes andsizes with output log volumes and sizes. Again without block closinginspections and diagnostic sampling, the Department cannot know the stateof the forest after logging.

The need to revise concession agreements has been stated to copewith situation changes and inflation. In the case of royalties and penalties,they do not seem to bear any relation to the costs of collection, the nature ofthe offence or the value of the activity.

Some remedies are being introduced with the new managementlicenses issued for three forest reserves, and a differentiation into a forestland management fee and a royalty on natural products is just beingintroduced.

As previously stated, the forest policy puts emphasis on themanagement of forest reserves and previous management plans have beenprepared in the past for some reserves but not all have been implementedand adhered to. With the new series of management plans prepared forthree reserves, there will be a need for continued vigilance in the applicationof the plans and the concession agreements. Priority needs to be given tothese responsibilities.

With these moves already implemented certification needs to be


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followed up. New River Enterprises needs to be certified. Presently onlyProgramme for Belize is certified under the combined Smart WoodCertification Program and the European Certification Program. There aresteps emerging in this direction under the Selva-Maya concept.

8. Role of Disturbance in Relation to Mahogany

The presence of mahogany in Belize has been explained by acombination of hurricanes and fires but before that during the Mayanoccupancy the forest was completely stripped from the land. After they left itgrew back to forest containing pre-climax species, for example mahogany,and a predominance of species favored by the Mayas, e.g., Brosimum for itsnuts, sapodilla for its fruits and chicle, and cohune palm for its oil.

There is a clear correlation between the above species, signs of Mayaoccupation and limestone soil. Mahogany occurs and grows well on a welldrained acid soil, but does not occur in the same profusion as on thelimestone soils which indicate that we have the Mayas who cultivated thelimestone soils to thank, for causing the increase in Mahogany.

It has been noted that large areas of natural regeneration after largeforest fires in the Chiquebul Forest have resulted in large concentration ofMahogany regeneration. This occurred after fires in 1945 and in the period1954-1959 silvicultural improvements to enhance the growth of Mahoganywere being applied yearly in 1000-acre blocks. This was discontinued due tolack of funds.

The impact of hurricanes has received more attention recently. Themap of hurricane paths indicated that hurricanes have at sometime passedover most of the entire length of the country. In some instances, it hasprovided more suitable conditions for regeneration where it has exposed soils(provided clearings). This allows receiving seeds from mahogany trees,which have survived fairly well and appeared to be relatively wind resistant insome cases depending on the distance from the center of the storm.

In the process of natural regeneration of mahogany it appears thatdisturbances providing gaps and clearings especially to the lee-side of seedtrees is necessary for regeneration to take place. This is the process thatneeds to be mimicked in silvicultural techniques to be used in regeneratingmahogany. This is what is being done in the Programme for Belize landswith provided wedge shape clearings downwind of mahogany seed trees intheir research work.


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9. System of Exploitation

Traditionally, mahogany logging has been the felling of the best trees. Trees too large to cut remained in the forest incidentally serving as seedtrees. A 30-40 year period of inactivity followed the next cutting cycle. Thisapproach fortunately resulted in a simple but effective management system. This in effect is the selection system. This was done by applying minimumdiameter or girth limits and worked well where the cutting cycle was long. Atone time, the country was divided into three zones from north to south withsmaller diameters applying from north to south but starting larger than thepresent cutting limits. Girth limits have fluctuated from 11'0" to the present6'6"; with 7'6", 8'6" and 9'6" applying at various times.

Various pressures were applied to the government to reduce the girthlimits especially from large landowners such as Belize Estates arguing theeconomic viability of their operations. Unfortunately, as the girth limits werereduced so were the cutting cycles. Along with the use of girth limits was theuse of forest licenses as part of the system.

Unfortunately, selective logging was the wrong system to apply as thisled to creaming of the best trees which led to degrading of the forest sincerepeated logging to reach the trees that come to the legal girth size limitcauses damage to the remaining trees which are the future crop.

10. Production and Trade

Some historical production and trade figures have already been givenin an earlier section. This section deals with production and trade figures forthe last ten years (Table 7). As can be seen these clearly indicate thegeneral downward trend showing that mahogany production is steadilydeclining.


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Table 7. Mahogany Production 1989-1990 (000 cu ft)

Year Production

1989 518000

1990 466000

1991 867000

1992 607000

1993 428000

1994 378000

1995 376000

1996 302000

1997 331000

1998 292000Source: Central Statistical Office

Domestic consumption and export figures as available from theCentral Statistical Office showing prices are given below. But someadjustment needs to be made for the export prices given since these are notmuch better than the Domestic prices. In fact during some of the interviewshigher prices paid locally were revealed. The point is that the governmenthas not been getting the true revenue from the export of mahogany.


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Table 8. Domestic Consumption of Mahogany 1989-1998.

Year >000 bd ft Price/bd ft BzDollars

1989 1288 1.20

1990 998 1.20

1991 2456 1.20

1992 -178 1.20

1993 -175 1.20

1994 603 1.20

1995 866 1.22

1996 708 1.24

1997 86 1.25

1998 88 1.30Source: Central Statistical Office

Table 9. Exports of Mahogany 1989-1998.

Year >000 bd ft Price/bd ft BzDollars

1989 2029 0

1990 1983 0

1991 3091 0

1992 4050 1.38

1993 2866 1.42

1994 3788 1.78

1995 1481 2.03

1996 2206 1.88

1997 2063 1.98

1998 1779 2.32Source: Central Statistical Office


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Export prices for 1989-91 are not available. Mexico had been themain buyer of mahogany from Belize. But this has reduced from 93% of theexport quantity going to Mexico down to 38% and according to some of theinterviewees; Mexico is not importing presently. The USA is the secondlargest buyer during the period, with Jamaica and the Caribbean in thirdplace. Canada and Ireland only came into the picture during the last twoyears in the period under review. It should be mentioned that Cedar makesup 7.6% of the export figures.

Alder (1993) calculated the sustainable Annual Allowable cut forMahogany to be 6041m3 or 213,307 cu ft, which at that time was grosslyexceeded by a factor of 3:1. It can be seen that while the annual allowablecut is still being exceeded up to 1998 it has been reduced considerably and isfollowing the desired trend.

Over-cutting is probably being encouraged by the export marketalthough the prices shown for export are not much better than those going onthe local market. The prices given locally during some of the interviewsrange from $1.75 to $3.00 a bd ft which are even better than those given forthe export price. It is quite likely that the true export prices have not beenproperly declared so that an adjustment needs to be made to these figures. However, it indicates that the government is not getting the proper revenues.

The Forest Department has been instituting measures to reduce theexportation such as reducing the dimensions of lumber to be exported from2" x 24" to 1" x 12", and it is also considering applying export quotas basedon the Annual Allowable Cut figure and give preference to the industrieswhich have value added facilities.

But it should first carry out a study of the local market requirements toascertain the drastic reduction on the domestic consumption table. Only thesurplus could be exported and more intense monitoring applied. An outrightban has been given consideration but it is not considered suitable because itwould undermine the value and importance of Mahogany. It is also not apopular move with the industry. Stricter controls are needed at the point ofexport to get the true value obtained for the product so that government canget its fair revenue share. Some mechanism of checking the true marketprices obtained for the product needs to be put in place and constantlyreviewed.

10.1 Sawmills

The number of sawmills in Belize has remained constant over the last


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decade at around 45. Only five of these are band mills, the rest being old,portable circular mills that yield low quality lumber with considerable waste. All of them would convert Mahogany if they can obtain the logs. Annualproduction and conversion rates are not available even though there areproduction statistics that saw millers are required to submit with relevantinformation but these have seldom been adhered to.

Since figures have revealed in 1993 that Mahogany is being over cutby a factor of three times the allowable cut, it is clear that there are too manysawmills. Such a large number of sawmills would encourage production andover cut with the pretext of providing jobs, but this is at the expense ofdepleting the resources. Although it might not be politically expedient toreduce the number of sawmills, drastic measures are required to bettermanage and conserve the resources.

Licensing of sawmills is a measure that is required immediately. Thestandards set should be high so that only bandmills and a few newer circularmills with the necessary ancillary equipment for the proper conversion oflumber meet the criteria for licensing. There should be regulations thatmahogany should only be converted into lumber by bandmills; no circularsaws should be used and the use of chain saw for this purpose should bebanned. Conversion of mahogany logs into rotary and sliced veneer shouldbe enhanced.

The felling and sawing of undersized trees should be rigidly enforcedat the peril of cancellation of the license and/or closure of the sawmill at thefirst offence. Illegal logging should be stamped out and a system devisedand enforced to trace the origin of the logs. Only legal salvage operationse.g. after fire or hurricane, and legally approved conversion operations shouldbe exempt from removing under sized trees, but conversion of all mahoganyshould be restricted to band mills or veneer.

The adoption of the proposed draft legislation should greatly improvethis situation but only if proper monitoring, and enforcement is followed up.

A study covering 28 sawmills six years ago (Plumtree 1993) arrived ata conversion rate - logs to lumber of 42% for circular sawmills while ofbandmills the rate was 63.7%. The report also found that reliable statisticson the performance of sawmills were difficult to find, inventory information,input to mills and output from them were incomplete and in many casesunreliable. It said that it was difficult to assess the sustainability of forestmanagement or the efficiency of the industries in utilizing the forest. Exceptwhere sustainable logging has been introduced which can be tied to threesawmills there has been no change with respect to the other sawmills.


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In addition, to the sawmill industry mentioned above, there are twofunctioning veneer and plywood plants and a large number of small furnituremanufacturing entities using Mahogany. In the Shipyard region of OrangeWalk, there are 35-40 such operations using mahogany in addition to thosein other districts although the trend in the furniture industry is said to be awayfrom mahogany to other decorative hardwoods. The veneer and plywoodplants use mahogany as the decorative face of the plywood.

Appendix III gives a list of the sawmills by Districts and their approximatelocation is given in the attached sketch Map 7.

10.2 Conservation Status

In November 1995, Belize listed mahogany in Appendix III of theConvention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Thisrequires that a certificate of origin accompany all exports of mahoganyincluding sawnwood and veneer.

New River Enterprises Ltd. maintains that they were not certified, butwould consider getting certification for the Chiquibul part of the operation. This reserve is being worked under a management plan, and logging is beingunder a 40-year cycle with area control felling one block per year. Sustainable logging is being instituted in this reserve.

Programme for Belize is the only operation which is certified underboth Smart Wood (USA) and Wood Mark (UK). There is a project presentlylooking at Belize being certified under the Selva Maya concept and the threereserves operating under management plans with area control are beingassessed with certification in mind.

Recent attempts have been made to list Mahogany in Appendix II. Ifmahogany is listed in Appendix II, trade volumes must be documented andtrade must be compatible with conserving the species at a level consistentwith its role in the ecosystem in which it occurs throughout its range. Appendix II in CITES does not ban trade, but requires that management is inplace compatible with conserving the species as already mentioned. Belizehas not supported the listing of mahogany in Appendix II and maintains itscurrent position.

As has been mentioned previously, where mahogany is likely to existin protected areas, this is a major step in the conservation of the species. Alist of these areas is attached in Appendix IV and Map 8 shows the ProtectedAreas in Belize.


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11. Promising Sustainable Management Options

This is covered in relation to what is being done in three forestreserves and one private estate in natural broadleaf forest. Plantations areincluded as another option.

11.1 Forest Reserves

The selective logging system with minimum cutting diameterrestrictions removed the largest specimens thus removing seed sources,create openings too small for regeneration, and favors less valuable shadetolerant species.

It is not appropriate for an intolerant species such as mahogany. Thissituation has led to a dramatic decline in both abundance and size ofmahogany stocking. It was aggravated by reducing the minimum felling girthlimits from the original instituted. It had long been recommended that theabove system is not appropriate for Belize.

The production broadleaf forest require proper management withmanagement plans which include stock taking requirements, specified cuttingcycles, girth limit, intensive yet careful logging, leaving scattered superiorseed trees for regeneration and post logging inspections.

This is now taking place in three forest reserves. Here selection-fellingtechniques are being applied. This is not the same as the selective loggingsystem which is indiscriminate logging and liquidation of the merchantablegrowing stock, irrespective of the consequences to regeneration, structure,functionally and productivity of the forest which does not fit the criteria ofsustainability.


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Selection felling is the selection, marking and directional felling of treesunder strict silvicultural rules in a harvesting system which is ecologically andenvironmentally compatible, and is in strict accordance with traditional rulesof good forest management and the principles of sustainability.

The system involves the harvesting of six merchantable stems perhectare over 60-cm d.b.h. compared to the traditional 0.25 stems per hectare. There is a maximum girth limit (around 100 cm) to preserve the structure ofthe forest and trees are selected on silvicultural criteria rather than minimumdiameter. The felling cycle is 40 years, the area divided into 40 blocks, withone block cut per year.

It is expected that the more intensive felling will provide gap sizes largeenough to encourage the growth of mahogany regeneration. Stock taking iscarried out prior to felling operations, which then identifies which trees are tobe removed and which are to remain for the next crop. It is all controlledunder a management plan and a 20-year logging license. It should bementioned that this applies to the productive areas of forest reserves, whichare areas with slopes < 25°. Areas in forest reserves with slopes > 25° areprotective areas and cannot be logged. Where mahogany exists in these arethey protected as in National Parks, wildlife sanctuaries, nature reserves, andnatural monuments.

11.2 Private Land

Programme for Belize is applying a modification of the selection fellingsystem to encourage natural regeneration of mahogany in their productionarea comprising 24039 hectares. The balance of the area some 81214hectares are for conservation activities.

There is a management plan and the production area is divided into120 compartments on a 40-year cycle with three compartments worked peryear. A stock survey is carried out ahead of felling and seed trees areidentified. At least 20 mahogany seed trees per 100 hectares including thesingle largest mahogany tree and all mahogany trees under 50 cm d.b.h.must be retained. Directional felling techniques are used and harvestingintensity is low, an average of 1.6 items per hectare for all species. Thistranslates to 170,000 bd. ft of which 60% is mahogany; the balance includes5-8 species.


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As the disturbance of both canopy and undergrowth is considered tobe insufficient for mahogany regeneration, wedge-shaped clear felledpatches are made down wind of mahogany seed trees to allow more light toreach the forest floor and regenerating seedlings. This increases the cost ofoperations but the concentration of mahogany in this area is higher to warrantthe modified system to encourage mahogany regeneration but it is a viableoption, which could be applicable in similar situations.

11.3 Plantations

Besides the considerable amount of work done by the ForestDepartment on natural mahogany regeneration improvement in variousForest Reserves, a lot of attention was diverted to plantations. Among thetechniques used to establish plantations included line planting nursery stockin secondary bush, direct seeding mahogany with subsistence crops(taungya) and planting seedlings in small clusters (Anderson groups). Mixedexperimental plantings of mahogany identified suitable species including:Vochysia koschnyia, Virola merondonis, Aspidospermum megalocarpum andCalophyllum brasiliense. Successful establishment of mahogany by underplanting a natural stand of 10 year old Belotia sp is also documented.

The point is that successful plantation establishment is a viablealternative or option in Belize. This has been recognized and stated in theliterature. Recommendations were made in 1959 against continuingestablishing plantations, and again similar views were expressed in the late1980's. Establishment of mahogany plantations is a viable option in Belize,but it is necessary not to repeat the past mistakes in yielding to landpressures for agriculture rather than respecting the investment in plantations.

Of a total of 1280 ha of mahogany plantations that were established by1985 only 104 hectares were remaining in the Columbia River ForestReserve. These were already issued under license to liquidate them in 1997but the Forest Department was able to save them after convincing thepowers that be that they are valuable research materials where sample plotsare being monitored.


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12. Critical Aspects Threatening the Species

During the course of the study a few aspects have surfaced which arethreatening the species. These include illegal logging, cutting undersizedtrees, chain saw and too many sawmills, too many licenses, and conflict withgroups among others.

12.1 IlIegal Logging

This might take two forms. Although there has not been any recentreports of transborder illegal logging this has occurred on the western borderalong the Cayo/Orange Walk and the Toledo Borders section. There recentlyhas been more contact with cross border authorities so that any situationsare more manageable but the situations needs to be monitored.

The other form is in country illegal logging. This takes the form ofindividuals not having licenses as in one report given for the Manatee ForestReserve. The other form is where the individual has a license but entersadjacent private land to remove trees. Stricter monitoring and applyingpenalties under the law including cancellation of license are necessary.

12.3 Cutting Undersized Trees

Where this occurs and the culprits are caught, harsh penalties need tobe enforced including cancellation of licenses. There is a loophole in thecase of land clearing for agriculture where not even a license is needed toremove trees less than two feet. This law needs to be amended and bettermonitoring is needed. The paper trail required to trace the origin of logsneeds to be enforced. The Forest Department is vigilant in this area as couldbe seen on one occasion when the writer visited Orange Walk and sawconfiscated undersized logs being disposed of. Stepping up of this vigilanceneeds to be more widespread.

12.4 Chain saw Lumber Conversion

There have been numerous reports of the chain saw being used forthe conversion of logs into lumber. While this was not the intention behindchain saw permits being issued the matter needs to be addressed. Besidesthe excessive waste in converting logs into lumber, there are reports of illegal


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use of chain saw in the forests.

In addition to this, the chain saw has facilitated access to fewindividual mahogany trees remaining in the forest which could serve as seedtrees. These were left because the last time logging operations were carriedout they would not have been felling size, or were in inaccessible positions. Now that the chain saw is around these trees are cut and sawn into lumberin-situ. It is even reported that some of these operations take place at night.

12.5 Proliferation of Sawmills

These are for too many sawmills in the country, the majority of thembeing old circular mills that cannot produce quality lumber and cause a lot ofwaste in the process. It has been mentioned that once the draft Forest Act isput into effect, this situation will be remedied with the need to licensesawmills and should include the requirement that conversion of mahoganylogs should be only with the use of band saws apart from the use for veneerfor plywood. The existence of too many sawmills is being used to pressure tobe allowed to provide employment.

12.6 Proliferation of Licenses

Over the past decade the production areas including national landshave been fragmented by dividing them into smaller areas to allow moreindividuals to work the areas. While this might be expedient with the excuseof providing more employment and an increase in economic activity, it is notexpedient for sustainable management of the forest. Reduction in thenumber of licenses is urgently needed to be able to amalgamate theproduction areas into forest management units of sufficient sizes to be ableto apply sustainable management techniques. This has already started inthree areas but need to be extended to other areas.

12.7 Conflict with Groups

Recently there has been conflict between a foreign logging entity anda Maya group in the south part of the country in the Toledo District. In Belize,the indigenous people situation is not the same as in other parts where thepeople actually live inside the forest in the wild.

There are Indian reserves that were put aside for them to practice themilpa system of agriculture as a community but the trees remain under thejurisdiction of the government. The conflict has arisen because the people


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claim that the logging operations are affecting their water supply source inthat logging is blocking the streams at crossings and polluting the water. Thesituation has led to the suspension of the license while a committee wasinvestigating and reporting. The committee recommended reissue of thelicense with conditions included to address the concerns of the people. Thematter is under public discussions with the people aiming to arrive atconditions that will solve the concerns, and the logging entity can reapply forthe license if it agrees with the new requirements.

12.8 Users of Mahogany

There are some concerns among some of the individuals involved inusing mahogany that they cannot obtain the quality lumber they need for theiroperations. Some say that the saw millers are exporting the best lumber andwill not sell them the better quality lumber. Some say that what is available isat a high price. Producers say that there is not enough local market for theirproduction and so they have to export. The fact is that, over production is stilltaking place fueled by exports, which is diminishing the mahogany stocks andis threatening the species.

12.9 Impact of Fires and Hurricanes

Where mahogany exists fires do not have a devastating impact unlessit occurs after a long intense dry season where the fires would occur withsuch intensity to kill the trees, but this is not a frequent occurrence. Onoccasions where fires have occurred in broadleaf forest, where mahoganygrows it has in fact been beneficial because good regeneration has occurredas a result of sufficient seed trees. Hurricanes can be another matterdepending on the strength of such hurricanes. Past hurricanes such as Janetin the north and Hattie in the south have had devastating effects especiallynearer to the center of the eye of the hurricane where the destruction hasbeen more severe. Hurricanes would be more devastating in the situationwith pure mahogany plantations and this has been one reason whyplantations have not been advocated in Belize.

There are other views emerging concerning the impact of hurricanes inbroadleaf forest where mahogany occurs in low density, scatteredpopulations of trees. In some situations, mahogany has survived wellcompared to other trees and this is attributed to the buttress habit of the treeand the fact that it defoliates easily causing less resistance to the wind. Butwhere the wind damage has left wide enough gaps to encourage naturalregeneration from the remaining trees once these recover the result has been


37

beneficial.

13. Discussion

After approximately 250 years of exploitation of the species, what isthe situation with mahogany in Belize? The fact that this exploitation hascontinued for such a long time and there is still some mahogany remaining,has a lot to say for the resilience of the species, as well as the interventionswhich has been made and put in place for the continuation of the species,however, inadequate these interventions might appear to have been.

What we do know is that over that period of 250 years there has beena drastic reduction of the mahogany resources of the country, first due tologging and secondly and more recently due to land use changes which havetaken place for agriculture. Some areas of mahogany have been wiped outin the process of deforestation, which has taken place. We also know thatthere is little mahogany left of merchantable size and that large over maturemahogany trees are a thing of the past. Where an isolated tree might haveremained in the forest due to inaccessibility or other reason, these are beingwiped out with the use of the chainsaws.

There is no national or whole country forest inventory, which couldgive more accurate information on the situation with mahogany. What wehave are six regional broadleaf forest inventories carried out between 1969 to1981 which included four forest reserves at that time and one area of privateland. These being the only inventories available, although several years old,have been re-analyzed and reworked in a report by Alder (1993), the mainobjectives being to arrive at national estimates of the forest resources inBelize including mahogany and to calculate an Annual Allowable Cut (AAC)for sustainable logging.


38

In the report, the areas of broadleaf forest by categories ofmanagement are as follows:

Timber Production Areas

Forest Reserves, slopes < 25° 965 km2

Forested National Lands 1087 km2

Forested Private Lands 981 km2

The balance was all classified as protected broadleaf forest.

Appendix A of the report gives inventory tables for categories offorestland as shown above. For each of the above category, two tables aregiven; one for tree numbers per km2 by cm diameter classes, which in effectgives density in three cumulative classes > 20; > 40; > 60 cm. The othertables gives tree bole volumes m3 per km2 in the same cumulative classeswith the diameters > 60 cm being the harvestable diameter classes.

The report arrived at an Annual Allowable Cut of 6041m3 or 213308 cuft for mahogany and cedar. It also stated that the cutting of Mahogany andCedar grossly exceeds the sustainable AAC for these species by a factor of3:1. As shown by the production figures available from the Central StatisticalOffice, the AAC is still being exceeded up to 1998, although a downwardtrend is clearly discernable.

However, closer scrutiny of the report reveals that the figures used inthe inventory tables given are not exclusively for mahogany but cover an elitespecies group which includes seven other hardwoods species.

The situation with mahogany alone would appear to be worse thanindicated. The trees bole volume figure used to multiply each land categoryarea to arrive at stock volumes of mature trees, which are > 60-cm diameterper land category is for the whole elite group. The equivalent figure formahogany alone is about 50% of the group figures in two of the three landcategories. The AAC in the case of mahogany alone could be as low orlower than 50% of the original AAC given in the report.

This means that over cutting is a far more serious situation than it hasbeen stated and more drastic measures are necessary to reduce the overcutting in line with a much lower AAC if the species is to be sustainablymanaged.

Similarly, the density of mahogany in the three land categories is verylow, being in the order of 0.1 and 0.2 stems per hectare for merchantable


39

size (> 60 cm d.b.h.). It is still below 1 stem per hectare, ranging from 0.4 to0.6 in the > 40 cm d.b.h. class. Only in the > 20 cm d.b.h. class where thedensity is 5.9, 6.0 and 7.4 stems per hectare in the three categoriesrespectively can thus be considered satisfactory. If these numbers can bemaintained to maturity, the density of mahogany would be comparable todensities recorded elsewhere in the species range.

In the very early 20's, it was recognized that mahogany wasapproaching exhaustion and that the lack of regeneration would lead to adecline of mahogany and that improving logged over forest could remedy thesituation. Stand improvement operations aimed at increasing mahoganygrowth and regeneration were initiated. These efforts were abandoned dueto increased costs and other reasons in favor of plantations. Againplantations were not carried through because of financial constraints. Hadthese efforts continued, Belize’s mahogany situation would be in much bettersituation now than the present,

In the sector review for the TFAP for Belize the various problems in theforestry sector were highlighted. With the implementation of the ForestPlanning and Management Project, which followed, the Government of Belizebegan addressing some of the problems.

The boundaries of some forest reserves were consolidated. ForestManagement plans were prepared for two of these. Sustainable logging wasinstituted using the management criteria of 40-year cycle, area control andminimum felling girths. The terms and conditions of forest licenses wererevised and used in these two areas. With the stock taking requirement priorto logging as annual compartment and the system of logging applied thestructure of the forest is being improved.

In addition to the above, the Forest Policy has been revised and sohas the Forest Act consolidating other laws, which will require the licensing ofsawmills. The Department now needs to get the political support needed toadopt the Forest Policy and the draft Forest Act and once approved, theDepartment needs to apply the laws, improve the monitoring for complianceand stop the illegal and undersized cutting of mahogany, Forest managementneeds to be extended to the other reserves to bring them into sustainablelogging. There is a need to stop the fragmentation of logging areas by notrenewing some licenses. Forest management units need to be formed wheresustainable logging can be implemented, as the area needed has to be large. Sustainable logging is not feasible on small areas, as they are too small toproduce a workable amount of timber.

The Department needs to re-think its policy on reforestation. There isa need to get back to plantations in agroforestry and the improvement of


40

mahogany regeneration including enrichment planting in the forest reserves. Some incentives needs to be considered and introduced for the privateforests, such as some form of dedication scheme to leave areas in forestsand do improvements on them and to encourage the planting of mahogany inboundary areas, and unused tracts of lands.

If such measures are encouraged and given the necessary impetusthe future of mahogany can be restored in time. In the final analysis aconscious effort should be made to find out what the country’s requirementsare at present with Mahogany lumber. A survey needs to be carried out bydistrict to obtain the needs of all present mahogany users. It should bewidely publicized prior to carrying out the survey so as to obtain maximumparticipation. The uncertainty of the Annual Allowable Cut figure is a serioussituation that needs to be addressed. The local consumption of mahoganyincluding the amounts going into value added operations presently, will be agood base figure as to what the country needs are. This can be comparedwith the indicated Annual Allowable Cut and the necessary adjustmentsmade.

If the requirements arrived at are within the present Annual AllowableCut, then the situation can remain stable; if not adjustments need to bemade. If there is no surplus for export in lumber form then this should bestopped.


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Bibliography

Alder, D. 1993 An Assessment of Broadleaf Forest Resources andSustainable Yield in Belize, FPMP Consultancy ReportNo.11, Ministry of Natural Resources, Belmopan,Belize

Anonymous 1968 History of Forestry in British Honduras, Internal ForestDepartment Paper

Bird, N.M. 1998 Sustaining the Yield, Improved Timber HarvestingPractices in Belize 1992-98, Chatham, U.K., NaturalResources Institute

Hartshorn, G.S. et al 1984 Belize Country Environmental Profile, A Field Study,Belize City, Belize USAID 151 p

King, R.B. et al 1992 Land Resource Assessment of Northern Belize, Bulletin43, Natural Resource Institute 513 p

Lamb, F.B. 1966 Mahogany of Tropical America: Its Ecology andManagement, University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor

Mayhew, J.E andNewton, A.C. 1998 The Silviculture of Mahogany, CABI Publishing: CAB

International, Wallingford, Oxon, U.K.

Plumptree, R.A. 1993 Report of the Sawmill Specialist, FPMP ConsultancyReport No.7, Ministry of Natural Resources, Belmopan,Belize

Weaver, P.L. andSabido, O.A. 1997 Mahogany in Belize: A Historical Perspective, General

Technical Report IITF-2, USDA Forest Service,Institute of Tropical Forestry, Puerto Rico

Wright, A.C.S. et al 1959 Land in British Honduras Colonial ResearchPublication 24, London, U.K. HMSO 327 p


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Appendix I

Forest Policy of British Honduras

The following Forest Policy of the Government of British Honduras asapproved by the Governor in Council is published for general information:

The Forest Policy of the Government of British Honduras is:

1. To establish, preserve for all time and develop a Crown Lands ForestEstate consisting of areas of Crown Land in any of the followingcategories:

a. land unsuitable for permanent agriculture but supporting orcapable of supporting forest.

b. land capable of producing a greater sustained financial return, ifretained or developed as forest than if used for other purposes.

c. land which is best kept or put under forest for the betterprotection of watersheds, catchment areas, drainage basins,steep hill slopes and for the prevention of erosion, the control ofrun-off, the regulation of steam-flow and the stabilization of theclimate.

d. areas which are required for the production of fuelwood for usein towns and villages or by local industries, or for the productionof rough building and fencing materials for local use.

e. areas which from time to time may be set aside as naturereserves.

2. In order to establish the Forest Estate, to survey, demarcate, andconstitute as Forest Reserves by proclamation, all Crown Land areasdescribed in paragraph 1 above. Forest Reserves once constitutedwill only be dereserved wholly or in part by the Governor in Council asa result of some over-riding public necessity.

3. In order to preserve the Forest Estate, to maintain demarcatedboundaries by clearing of traces and maintenance of boundary marksas may be necessary to afford protection to the forests from fire,animals, insect pests of diseases, trespass and illicit felling, removal ofor damage to forest produce, by such measures including legislationas the Government may deem advisable and practicable; and to placeall exploitable surveys, and calculation of increment or otherpracticable methods of yield control of exploitation, and by natural orartificial regeneration and tending operations, so that their yield oftimber and other forest produce will be maintained in perpetuity.

4. In order to develop the Forest Estate, and thus ensure an adequateand increasing supply of timber and other forest produce at a


43

reasonable price to the people, industries and timber trade of BritishHonduras, and for export; to establish intensive regeneration centresin selected forest reserves. At these regeneration centres,, the aimwill be to create fully stocked forests or plantations of mahogany,cedar, pine or other species including exotics by artificial or intensively-assisted natural regeneration over areas adequate to supply inperpetuity a sawmill or processing plant of economic size at or neareach centre.

5. To increase production from Forest Reserves by ensuring fullutilization of prime hardwoods and pine, and encouraging the use ofsecondary hardwoods and other forest produce; by developing localand export markets for small dimension stock of prime hardwoods andpine; for secondary hardwoods and other forest produce; by exploringthe possibilities of other forms of Forest utilization, for example forpaper pulp.

6. To raise the quality of sawn lumber exported to world markets by theinstitution of Timber grading, the encouragement of seasoning and ofaccurate sawing and machining to specification, in order to achieveassured markets for British Honduras timber abroad.

7. To promote the practice of forestry on freehold lands, by the control offelling of mahogany, cedar and such other species as the Governmentmay deem advisable, by the inspection and marking for felling of treesof these species to specified minimum girth limits; encouraging andassisting landowners to draw up and implement simple working plansfor the sustained yield management on approved lines of their forestland in the categories described in 1 a, b, c and d above; and byencouraging and assisting afforestation on private lands.

8. To control the exploitation of forests and forest produce growingoutside Forest Reserves on Crown Land not yet taken up forAgriculture by the issue of Forest produce licenses framed in such away that these forests, which are a wasting asset on land allocated toagriculture, will continue to augment the yield form Forest reserves foras long as time as possible during the period when Forest reservesare being brought up to full production.

9. To bring about an increased appreciation of the need for and aims offorest conservation amongst the general public by propaganda overthe British Honduras Broadcasting Station, and to the schools.

10. To maintain a Forest Department of sufficient strength and suppliedwith sufficient funds to carry out the Forest policy set forth in 1 to 9above; supported by an adequate research programme; and to staffthe Forest Department with personnel recruited locally so far aspossible and trained at established University schools of Forestry, or atForester training schools, or locally, as may be appropriate to thedifferent grades.


44

Dated this 28th day October, 1954.

By Command,P. M. Renison T. D. VickersGovernor Colonial Secretary


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Appendix 2

Draft Forest Policy 1994

The Forest Policy of Belize seeks to:

a. Achieve an equilibrium between conservation of forest related naturalresources (biodiversity, water, soil and oxygen) with the productivedevelopment of the forest sector, within the framework of sustainabledevelopment.

b. Adapt forestry administration to focus on promotion and support,making the technical and administrative procedures efficient, in orderto enhance the productive process.

c. Conserve and support the increase of natural forest products andestablish and regulate protected forests. At the same time, increasethe national forest inventory through the recuperation of areas withgood forest potential, based upon technical criteria.

d. Develop a forest management plan which will demarcate conservationareas for forest reserves and facilitate the transfer of land, where thisis appropriate, between forestry and agriculture and for agro-forestry.

e. Examine ways to assist in the development of a more efficient andcompetitive forest industry through modernization of the industrialprocess, adequate methods of commercialization, forest pricing, theelimination of restrictive barriers and the gradual elimination of industryprotectionism.

f. Raise the value added of forest resource by promoting theestablishment of industries, such as furniture production, veneers.

g. Increase the capacity of forest management through investigation,training and forestry extension; accomplished in coordination with thepublic and private sectors and with universities through mechanisms oftechnological transfer.

h. Establish long term sustainable forest licenses which are governed bycomprehensive management plans.

I. Ensuring that environmental considerations are taken into account inthe formulation and implementation of forest management practices.


46

j. To raise public awareness on forestry conservation practices andregeneration methods.

In order to implement its forest policy the Government of Belize will:

1. Establish, preserve for all time and develop a State Lands ForestEstate consisting of areas of state land in any of the followingcategories:

a. land unsuitable for permanent agriculture but supporting orcapable of supporting forest.

b. land capable of producing a greater sustained financial return, ifretained or developed as forest than if used for other purposes.

c. land which is best kept or put under forest for the betterprotection of watersheds, catchment areas, drainage basins,steep hill slopes and for the prevention of erosion, the control ofrun-off, the regulation of streamflow and the stabilization of theclimate.

d. areas which are required for the production of fuel wood for usein the towns and villages or by local industries, or for theproduction of rough building and fencing materials for local use.

e. areas which from time to time may be set aside as naturereserves.

2. In order to establish the forest estate, to survey, demarcate andconstitute as Forest Reserves by proclamation, all State Land areasdescribed in paragraph 1 above. Forest Reserves, once constitutedwill only be dereserved by:

a. consultation with the public;

b. consultation with the Department of the Environment.

3. In order to preserve the Forest Estate, to maintain demarcatedboundaries by clearing of traces and maintenance of boundary marksas may be necessary to afford protection to the forests from fire,animals, insect parts or diseases, trespass and illicit felling, removal ordamage to forest produce, by such measures including legislation asthe government may deem advisable and practicable; and to place allexploitable Forest Reserves under sustained yield management by


47

enumeration surveys and calculation of increment or other practicablemethods of yield control; by control of exploitation and by natural orartificial regeneration and tending operations, so that their yield oftimber and other forest produce will be maintained in perpetuity.

4. In order to develop the Forest Estate, and thus ensure and adequateand increasing supply of timber and forest produce at a reasonableprice to the people, industries and timber trade of Belize, and forexport; to establish extensive regeneration centres in selected forestreserves. At these regeneration centres, the aim will be to create fullystocked forests or plantations of mahogany, cedar, pine or otherspecies including exotics by artificial or intensively assisted naturalregeneration over areas adequate to supply in perpetuity a sawmill orprocessing plant of economic size at or near each centre.

5. To increase production from Forest Reserves by ensuring fullutilization of prime hardwoods and pine, and encouraging the use ofsecondary hardwoods and other forest produce; by developing localand export markets for small dimension stock of prime hardwoods andother than pine; for secondary hardwoods and other forest produce; byexploring the possibilities of other forms of forest utilization, forexample for paper pulp.

6. To raise the quality of sawn lumber exported to world markets by theinstitution of timber grading, the encouragement of seasoning and ofaccurate sawing and machining to specification, in order to achieveassured markets for Belizean timber abroad.

7. To promote the practice of forestry on freehold lands, by the control offelling or mahogany, cedar and such other species as the governmentmay deem advisable, by the inspection and marking for felling of treesof these species to specified minimum girth limits; encouraging andassisting landowners to draw up and implement simple working plansfor the sustained yield management on approved lines of their forestlands in the categories described in 1 a, b, c and d above; and byencouraging and assisting afforestation on private lands.

8. To control the exploitation of forests and forest produce growingoutside forest reserves on State Lands not yet taken up for agricultureby the issue of forest produce licenses framed in such a way thatthese forests, which are a wasting asset on land allocated toagriculture, will continue to augment the yield from Forest Reserves foras long a time as possible furing the period when forest reserves arebeing brought up to full production.


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9. To bring about an increased appreciation of the need for and aims ofthe forest conservation of amongst the general public.

10. To maintain a Forest Department of sufficient strength and suppliedwith sufficient funds to carry out the Forest Policy set forth in 1 to 9above; supported by an adequate research programme; and to staffthe Forest Department with personnel recruited locally so far aspossible and trained at established University Schools of Forestry, orat Forester training schools, or locally, as may be appropriate to thedifferent grades.

11. To encourage the development of forestry industry in Belize by:

a. regulating and licensing sawmills; and

b. encouraging the manufacture of timber and the development oftimber products.


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Appendix 3

List of Sawmills

District Location Name Type of Sawmill

Corozal Shipstern Ellis Eiley Circular

Corozal Little Belize Mennonites Circular

Orange Walk Camp 2 Shipyard1 Peter Fehr Large Circular

Orange Walk Camp 2 Shipyard Juan Nicolait Large Circular

Orange Walk Camp 7 Shipyard Issac Olfort Large Circular

Orange Walk Camp 9 Shipyard Juan Wall Large Circular

Orange Walk Camp 9 Shipyard EnriqueBanman

Large Circular

Orange Walk Camp 1 Shipyard John Klassen Small Circular

Orange Walk Camp 4 Shipyard Juan Penner Small Circular

Orange Walk Camp 7 Shipyard Jacobo P.Theissen

Small Circular

Orange Walk Camp 20 Shipyard Joe Hanimham Small Circular

Orange Walk Camp Shipyard Issac Newfield Small Circular

Orange Walk Trial Farm Saul Garcia Circular

Orange Walk Orange Walk Town New RiverEnterprisesLtd.

Band

Orange Walk Tower Hill AntonioRosado

Circular

Orange Walk Orange Walk NataliaCampos

Circular

1 Mennonite Community.


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District Location Name Type of Sawmill

Orange Walk Guinea Grass Road Joe Briceno Circular

Belize Burrell Boom Mr. Cadle Circular

Belize Sandhill Ind. Ltd. Sandhill/Maskall Road

Circular

Cayo Yalbac Yalbac Ranch &Cattle Corp.

Circular

Cayo Spanish Lookout Midwest Ltd. Circular

Cayo Spanish Lookout David Reimer Circular

Cayo Spanish Lookout George Plett Circular

Cayo Spanish Lookout Tropical WoodsLtd.

Circular

Cayo Iguana Creek Belize TimberLtd.

Band Resaw

Cayo Central Farm Pine LumberCo.Ltd.

Circular

Cayo Camalote The Wood Depot Circular

Cayo Mile 47, Western Highway Alcala Band

Stann Creek Sagitun South Stann Creek Antonio Zabaneh Circular

Stann Creek George Town Junction K & W Sawmill Circular

Stann Creek Near George Town Polin Requena Circular

Stann Creek Red Bank Road Riverdale Co.Ltd. Circular

Stann Creek August Creek Joseph Estephan Circular

Stann Creek near Silkgrass CorneliusSawmill

Circular

Stann Creek Silkgrass Samuel Bailey Circular

Toledo Las Lomitas Yong LumberLtd.

Band

Toledo Nelson Hill Thomas Gomez& Sons

Circular

Toledo Thousand Creek Armando Carillo Circular

Toledo Deep River-Medina Bank Magnus Carcamo Circular


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District Location Name Type of SawmillToledo South of Deep River Everett Genus Circular

Toledo Big Falls AtlanticIndustries Ltd.

Band

Toledo The Dump Gilbert Tulcey Jr. Circular

Toledo Esso Landing Rio GrandeIndustries

Band

Toledo Jacinto Ville Wallace Edwards Circular

Toledo Pine Hill Mennonites Circular


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Appendix 4

List of protected areas with mahogany.

NAME STATUS AREA IN ACRES AREA IN SQ. KM. LOCATION

Tapir Mountain Nature Reserve 6720.88 27.21 Cayo District

Bladen Nature Reserve 99329.50 402.14 Toledo District

Shipstern Private Reserve 18775.43 76.01 Corozal District

Rio Bravo Conservation & Management Area2 Private Reserve 200598.56 812.14 Orange walk District

Monkey Bay National Park 1792.45 7.25 Belize District

Aguas Turbias National Park 8761.45 35.46 Orange Walk District

Five Blues Lake National Park 4047.17 16.38 Cayo District

Blue Hole National Park 662.23 2.68 Cayo District

Chiquibul National Park 285288.09 1155.01 Cayo District

Temash Sarstoon National Park 41753.55 169.04 Toledo District

Cockscomb Basin Wildlfe Sanctuary 133797.38 541.47 Stann Creek/Toledo Districts

Caracol Archaeological Reserve 4309.77 17.44 Cayo District

2 Includes the Conservation area only.


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Appendix 5

INTERVIEWSMarch 3, 1999 Mr. Oswaldo Sabido, Acting Chief Forest Officer Forestry

Department, Belmopan

• when he thinks of Mahogany, he thinks of the North of Belize.• export of Mahogany should be by quota based on the Annual Allowable

Cut.• a study was made to look at exporting of Mahogany and it was not

recommended that this be stopped.• need to be careful not to devalue Mahogany which could happen if export

is stopped.• chainsaw is a problem.

March 16, 1999 JRC Enterprises Ltd., Forest Drive, Belmopan

• manufactures furniture and wood products.• Mahogany lumber not readily available, especially first quality, because of

exportation of quality lumber.• still allowed without due regards for the local industry.• 1" lumber difficult to get - critical position.• Mahogany is the basis of his manufacturing of wood products. It is a

natural resource for which the whole country should benefit in integratedindustry.

• should stop being providers to the outside world.• management of resources - program needed.• seed trees need to be left.• chainsaw situation is a problem - should not have been allowed.

Reapers of the country – guat’s, salva’s, Mennonites buying chainsawlumber, stock and sell at high prices. Comprehensive management planneeded involving the relevant parties.

Uses 1000 bd ft a month - up to 30,000 bd ft a year of all lumber species -70% being Mahogany at $1.75/bd ft for chainsaw lumber - $2.25 - $3.00/bd ftreg sawmill Mah lumber.


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March 16, 1999 Jaguar Imports Ltd., John Briggs, Forest Drive,Belmopan

• uses 1000 bd ft a week of Mahogany lumber.• prices paid $1.75/$2.25/$2.40 a bd ft.• dries 7500 bd ft every 10 days for use by himself, JRC and Medina

furniture.• would want to get out of Mahogany use and use other species.

March 15, 1999 Belize Enterprise for Sustainable Technology (BEST) -Frank Smith

• have a PACT funded project involving Mahogany replanting schoolgrounds in the Cayo District.

• use of trees in Agroforestry - have obtained Mahogany germ plasma fromCosta Rica.

March 15, 1999 Help for Progress Ltd., Forest Drive, Belmopan

• nothing on going• informed that one Gabino Canto has a nursery of mahogany at BCA

March 15, 1999 Central Statistics Office, Mr. Willoughby

• assisted with production and export figures on Mahogany. April 7, 1999 Melvin Hulse Sr., Roaring Creek, Cayo

• we have little Mahogany left, should stopcutting under 8'6" girth.• few mahogany remaining.• petty permit should be stopped.• no clear cut of Mahogany should be allowed.• small sawmills should be closed down only need a few sawmills, only three

needed for the country.• power saw to convert Mahogany into lumber should be stopped.• planting and regeneration of Mahogany - Pine, Rosewood, Zericote should

be done.• Bladen area should have some Mahogany left.• exporting of Mahogany lumber should be stopped - use in value added the

little that is left.• no seed trees are being left - being cut out by chainsaw.• salvage permits should be stopped.


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April 8, 1999 Spaceline Upholstery & Cabinet Co.Ltd., Hubert Usher,Dangriga, Stann Creek District

• difficult to obtain Mahogany lumber.• uses 5-1500 bd ft a month• around Stann Creek is $2.00 bd ft; Belmopan and Punta Gorda $2.50-

$2.75 a ft.• Mahogany for furniture and doors is the demand.• trend is other hardwoods for lockers.

April 8, 1999 Belize Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Kevin Herrera, Belize City, Belize

• he knows of the supply problem with Mahogany lumber.• also licensing problem - cutting and processing.• people getting licenses who have no equipment and just flog out the

licenses.• see Dr. canton.

April 8, 1999 Carter Upholstery Ltd., Darrel Carter, 21 Dolphin Street,Belize City, Belize

• 14 years in the business when BFC was sole supplier and producer ofMahogany lumber in Belize City,

• base for furniture - price $2.25 a ft.• now only use it for special purposes, for antique furniture, legs and turning

- spend $400.00 a month buying Mahogany lumber (about 200 bd ft).• quality Mahogany lumber difficult to obtain.• use other woods more as an alternative, e.g. pine, other hardwoods.• Mahogany is at an all time premium.

April 8, 1999 Medina Furniture, Mr. Medin, 3 - 16th Street, SanIgnacio, Cayo

• uses 5000 bd ft a month Mahogany and 3000 mixed hardwood.• mahogany difficult to get.• problem is that sawmillers want to export the best and not sell to

Belizeans.• cutting young Mahogany, not good for export, leave inferior lumber for

home use.• in 10 years there will be a problem with mahogany.• association needed


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• Forest need to be managed better• export of Mahogany need to be stopped• should cut only mature trees

April 9, 1999 Gabourel Custom Cabinet, Mr. Swift, 1745 Coney Drive,Belize City, Belize

• Mahogany lumber procuring problem mentioned being the securing of kilndried lumber for small operations, large operators who can afford aninventory could negotiate with kiln drivers - Loskot, Belize Timber for theirneeds.

• suppliers are Belize Timber Ltd & Yalbac Manufacturers Assn hasagreement with Yalbac to obtain FAS for members.

• Price $2.30 bd ft or there about• plywood - mahogany - framing - quality of local plywood is a problem• cotton plywood soaks the glue• impact of pricing - Loskot would put more Mahogany into plywood than in

lumber - problem!• regeneration package was pursued in the original concession but got

nowhere

April 15, 1999 Belize Timber Ltd, John Roberson, Iguana Creek, CayoDistrict

• They had the BEC Lands, 600,000 acres in extent and were going through10,000 acres per yaer, removing 600,000 bd ft of Mahogany ofmerchantable size (6'6" girth). This yielded 60 bd ft per acre and thiswould be sustainable since it would return to the original 10,000 acres andthe yield would have been slightly better than 60 bd ft a year. Thisproduction would be the highest for the country as anywhere else wouldnot have the stocking.

April 23, 1999 Linda Vista Lumber Yard, Frank Plett, Spanish Lookout,

Cayo District

• Has a circular and Band mills resaw. Production of mahogany has beenlow the past two years. 27-28,000 bd ft from the Manatee Reserve whichhe has on an annual license. Last year 1998 he bought 24,000 bd ft at$1.50 bd ft which came from the same area. Selling price is $2.25 bd ft forthe better grade. Chain saw lumber 30" wide is $3.00 a ft. All the 1"lumber goes fast, there is a good demand for this.

• He says that about 40,000 bd ft is available in the mountains in theManatee Reserve where there is no road and only can be taken out bychain saw operation.


57

• The Mennonites have 25,000 acres in the Yalbac area already subdividedinto different ownerships. They have started replanting in this area byregeneration. This is done by cleaning west of the seed tree and allowingseeds to fall and regenerate. Mahogany is there, but 1/3 of the westernpart has all gone in illegal logging. The area was bought but is being lefthaving removed the large trees about half the area has been logged.

• In the north of the country only small Mahogany are being removed. Thisis not good. Chainsaw operations are causing havoc with Mahogany. It iseasy to view their operations from the air, mostly all illegal. Chainsawpermit is a problem which is affecting the legal aspect of loggingmahogany. The price of Mahogany is going down because chainsaw cutlumber is available cheaply as they pay no royalty and are doing theoperation at night.

• He suggests that reforestation should be done. Mahogany should beplanted along pasture boundaries 500 acre pasture. Planting shouldinclude Cedar. He said that there should be TV commercials to encourageplanting in small areas not used in farming. He is encouraging that this isdone more in Spanish Lookout. The attitude is changing there about thewholesale clearing that used to be done at the start, and they are beingencouraged to plant Mahogany along boundary lines and in small cornersof the field.

• He said that they were working with an American with reference toMahogany regeneration where they were clearing to the west of Mahoganyseed tree s for seeds to fall and germinate. This is in the Yalbac landsbelonging to the Mennonites.

April 30, 1999 Camp 4, Heinrich Hildebrand, Shipyard, Orange WalkDistrct

• furniture manufacturing part time• He obtains his mahogany supply from Little Belize area and a little from

Shipyard but it is scarce. It is difficult to obtain Mahogany. Only small logsare available. When lumber was available in Shipyard it was all for exportto Mexico. There is also not the quality of lumber available, only narrowlumber available which you have to glue together to make wider pieces. For example, 6 pieces are needed for a 34" wide table.

• He uses about 6000 bd ft a year but it is difficult to obtain as only narrowlumber with pin worm is available which has to be cut even narrower to getthe best. Price is about $1.50 a ft to buy. Sometimes occasionallyselected pieces (wider) would be $2.00 a ft. It is expensive even at $1.50because they are narrow and you have to cut out what it not good and itgets narrower. The quality is not too good as it is young lumber.

• He sees difficulty in continuing the business because of the difficulty ingetting lumber. He thinks that the export of Mahogany should be stopped.


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Some people get land for agriculture and get permission to clear out butreally only take out the Mahogany and leave the area. He used to grieve alot when the exportation was more rampant as he thought it should be leftfor Belizeans to use, to conserve (save) it for Belizeans. He says there areabout 35 to 40 furniture makers in the Shipyard area who would say similarthings on the Mahogany situation.

May 4, 1999 Natalie and Alvaro Campus, Orange Walk Town, Orange

Walk

• This is not an all year round operation. They have a forest license in theBomba area, Belize District. Mahogany is difficult to get only 10 to 12 inchdiameter trees are available which the legal size is 6'6". There seems tobe a lot of Mahogany but all small size.

• From January to now they have cut about 15,000 bd ft. They haveproblem with the license. The Bomba people want to be paid for use ofthe road. The village council is asking for $15,00 a trip per truck load. They export to the USA, the maximum size lumber for export is 1x12".

• This family says they depend on the lumber business. They get no ordersfrom Belize - no one wants to buy much locally, although some have beensold to Belmopan at $1.85 a ft. They have problem to get rid of the lumberlocally yet the Furniture Association complains that they cannot getlumber. They are against stopping the export of Mahogany, although thereare no exports to Mexico.

• They suggest planting 10 trees for everyone being cut like it is done inMexico. Forestry should start a nursery to have plants available. There ismore lumber (Mahogany) than the local market can take so there is noneed to stop the export. Replanting should have been taking place longago. They think they have 3-4 years more logs available from the Bombaarea. There is plenty of 5'6" size trees more than the 6'6". They havebeen in the business for about 40 years.

May 4, 1999 New River Enterprises Ltd., J.B. Loskot, Orange WalktTown, Orange Walk

• He has undergone a gradual transformation in the business from lumber tovalue added; from primary species to lesser known species. This is to putless pressure on Mahogany. He has license areas in the Chiquebul andthe Toledo District. The Chiquebul license is being worked under aManagement plan. He also processes for Programme for Belize who arecertified both by Smart Wood and the European side. They do flooringand plywood for Programme for Belize.

• The export market is picking up in all value added areas, louvre doors,doors, flooring, plywood. Also there is a good local demand. He uses


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about 10% mahogany out of 1,200,000 bd ft of lumber used annually in thebusiness. He also purchases some timber. He has his own private land(10,000 acres) which he uses sparingly - saving it. This area has a lot of merchantable mahogany. There is no problemgetting mahogany.

• From the Toledo license area he is getting mostly soft broadleaf timberused in veneer. The biggest impact is the way sustainable logging is beingdone. Regeneration is taking place especially in Programme for Belizelands. Cannot suddenly run out of Mahogany. Using more of the lesserknown species is resting the mahogany. The seaboard Mahogany (closerto the coast) is all small trees in the Orange Walk District.

• Programme for Belize has 283000 acres with lots of mahoganyregeneration and with sustained yield harvesting Mahogany will not runout. Sustained yield harvesting is the right way and it is doing the rightthing at the right time and just in time to save the situation. CITES shouldstay in Appendix III where it is now. NRE were not really certified from thestart. For certification you need a large area where you can work two ormore coupes at a time to get a mixture of species. Presently he isdepending on Programme for Belize who are certified. He has foundmarket for several hardwoods for flooring. He might look for certificationfor certain parts of the business, e.g., the Chiquebul production beingmanaged under a management plan and can get higher price for theproduct.

• Plantations is the thing to go into and he will go into this as this isautomatic certification. He is glad he did not go into it the way he hadthought earlier. It is not good to clear forest to put in plantations. It isbetter to use previously cleared land such as old pastures and othercleared land. He will be buying such land when available close of hismanufacturing facilities to have the supply near at hand.

May 7, 1999 Belize Timber Ltd. Mr.Canton, Iguana Creek, CayoDistrict

• There is not much mature mahogany left; there is mostly nothing left inNational lands. All chainsaw Mahogany being supplied in the local market. We are not even certain they have permits or if they pay royalty for thetrees. This chainsaw situation is causing havoc in the industry. It ishappening in the Columbia Forest Reserve where you have amanagement plan which is being worked but the chainsaw thing isrampant.

• Cutting of undersized trees should be stop. Persons applying for licenseshould be told no undersize trees to be cut, and no use of chainsaw forconverting into lumber since there are no mature legal size trees they willhave to stop and go out of business. This is what the industry needs.


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More newspaper notices should be put out to educate the public.• Certification should be looked at carefully because it seems that it is about

certification of other things and not wood. Once someone is working andadhering to a management plan, certification should be automatic.

May 10, 1999 Belize Audubon Society, Osmany Salas, Belize City,Belize

• He was appraised of the study and since the Belize Audubon Society isinvolved in the management of six protected areas where these containmahogany then mahogany is protected. The scope of the study wasoutlined and he was asked to express opinions on this and on CITES.

May 10, 1999 Programme for Belize, Dr. Palacio, Belize City, Belize

• There is on going research on Silvicultural treatment for Mahoganyregeneration to find the best way for mahogany to regenerate beingconducted by Laura Snook. Open gaps seems to be the best way.

• Openings of gaps of various size and ways: (1) cleared by bulldozer,followed by planting the clearing down wind from seed trees; (2) chainsawclearing, this emulates timber harvesting; (3) girdling; (4) control area. Thesizes of gaps used are 500, 1000, and 5,000 square meters. Measurement of sun light availability is carried out 3-4 times a year atevery equinox.

• Permanent Sample Plots have also been established and are beingmonitored in areas where felling has taken place and where no felling hastaken place.

• The entire property is 260,000 acres, of this 59401.2 logged on a 40 yearcycle divided into 120 compartments. No inventory on the entire area hasbeen carried out. The area being sustainably logged is 24049.0 on a 40year cycle would be working a total of 600 ha per year. In practice threecompartments are worked yearly or an area of 400 ha year as the balanceis lost in leaving buffer areas along roadsides, waterways, and marshes.

• This annual coupe yield 170,000 bd ft of timber of which 60% is mahoganyand the rest includes 5-8 species. New River Enterprises Ltd does theconversion based on sales by the marketing officer. The allocation of theyearly cutting blocks is also based on the sales made by the marketingofficer.

• The difference between 260,000 acres - 59401 acres = 200,599 acres or(105,263 ha - 24049.0 has = 81214.1 ha).

• Sustainability of mahogany under certification does not support restrictingexportation. Present certification is under Smart Wood (USA) and WoodMark (UK) for which a better price is obtained. There is no full inventoryfor the areas, but stock survey is an ongoing activity two years ahead of


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cutting.

In addition to the above, the writer had consultations with forest officersespecially the ones in charge or Orange Walk and Belize City as theysupplied information on sawmill locations.


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Appendix 6

List of contacts

1. Mr. Oswaldo Sabido 2. Mr. Juan CoyeActing Chief Forest Officer JRC Enterprises Ltd.Forest Department Belmopan, BelizeBelmopan, Belize Tel: 501-8-20186Tel: 501-8-23412

3. Mr. John Briggs 4. Mr. Frank SmithJaguar Imports Ltd. BESTForest Drive Hummingbird HighwayBelmopan, Belize Belmopan, BelizeTel: 501-8-23494 Tel: 501-8-23043

5. Mr. Willougby 6. Mr. Melvin Hulse Sr.Central Statistical Office Roaring CreekNew Administration Building Cayo District, BelizeBelmopan, Belize Tel: 501-8-22856Tel: 501-8-22207

7. Mr. Hubert Usher 8. Mr. Kevin HerreraSpaceline Upholstery & Cabinet Belize Chamber of Commerce1506 S/C Valley Road 63 Regent StreetDangriga, Stann Creek, Belize Belize City, BelizeTel: 501-5-22048 Tel: 501-2-73148

9. Mr. Carter 10. Mr. MedinaCarter Upholstery Ltd. Medina=s Furniture21 Dolphin Street 3-16th StreetBelize City, Belize San Ignacio, Cayo District,

BelizeTel: 501-2-75140 Tel: 501-9-22546

11. Mr. Swift 12. Mr. John RobersonGabourel Custom Cabinet Belize Timber Ltd.1795 Coney Drive Iguana CreekBelize City, Belize Cayo District, BelizeTel: 501-2-20596 Tel: 501-8-12010


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13. Mr. Frank Plett 14. Mr. HeinrichLinda Vista Lumber Yard HildebrandSpanish Lookout Shipyard, Camp 4Cayo District, Belize Orange Walk District, BelizeTel: 501-8-30257

15. Natalie and Alvaro Campus 16. Mr. J. B. LoskotBelize Road New River Enterprises Ltd.Orange Walk Town 14 Westby AlleyOrange Walk District, Belize Orange Walk Town, Orange

Walk, BelizeTel: 501-3-22225

17. Mr. G. Canton 18. Mr. Osmany SalasBelize Timber Ltd. Belize Audubon SocietyBelize City Lumber Yard 12 Fort Street2 Mapp Street Belize City, BelizeBelize City, Belize Tel: 501-2-34533Tel: 501-2-45716

19. Dr. PalacioProgramme for Belize1 Eyre StreetBelize City, BelizeTel: 501-2-75616


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Appendix 7

Maps


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Map 1. Location of Belize.


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Map 2. Major Land Forms and Soil Features of Belize.


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Map 3. Original Distribution of Mahogany in Belize.


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Map 4. Actual Distribution of Mahogany in Belize.


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Map 5. Map showing locations of Permanent Sample Plots.


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Map 6. Belize Protected Areas.

THE SITUATION WITH MAHOGANY IN BELIZE - SICA

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