IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Garcia-Contreras, G.; Acosta-Lugo, E.; Carrillo, J.C.; Hernandez, M.A. | |
| Maintaining Maya Forest Connectivity in a changing landscape: Calakmul Biosphere Reserve and Mexico's Highway 186 | |
| 2011 Conference Proceeding | |
Within a vast canopy of forest interrupted only by the peaks of ancient Mayan ruins lies southern Mexico's Calakmul Biosphere Reserve (CBR). The reserve's 1.8 million acres represent the heart of the Maya Forest, a 5.5 million-acre expanse that stretches across the southern Yucat n Peninsula, as well as through Guatemala and Belize. Low, medium and high deciduous forest, swamp and savannah provide refuge for an amazing variety of rare, endemic and migratory species, including large populations of neotropical migratory birds, jaguar, tapir, spider monkey and bats. In recent years, settlement pressure in the Maya Forest has resulted in the conversion of tropical forest to agriculture and ranching, road construction and tourism development. To the west of Calakmul, the state of Campeche has targeted the forests and archeological sites as a new tourism destination. In preparation, the Escarcega-Calakmul Highway 186 has begun expansion to four lanes, high-tension towers have been built and the signs of land speculation are present as people look to develop infrastructure and services on the edges of and within the buffer zone of the CBR itself. The resultant habitat fragmentation threatens both reserves and the diversity of life they support. In an effort to reduce the environmental impacts of road infrastructure and associated development, and maintain habitat connectivity along Highway 186 within the Maya forest , a coalition of Mexican non-profit organizations, working closely with the Mexican government, has produced a series of recommendations and mitigation measures to improve technical and legal practices applicable to the Highway 186 expansion and future road projects in other ecologically sensitive areas of Mexico. In order to identify priority locations to enhance habitat connectivity for diverse species, a multi-criteria analysis was carried out. Cartographic data and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) were used in a spatial analysis to identify sites where hydrologic features were obstructed or modified by the widening of Highway 186, strategic areas necessary to maintain ecosystem connectivity, and sites where priority species were most likely to cross the highway. Wildlife considered in the analysis were amphibians, reptiles, jaguar, tapir, deer, pecari, bats, understory birds and arboreal species such as monkeys. GIS data used on the analysis include land use, vegetation, hydrology, elevation, road infrastructure, demography and anthropic influences, and ecological processes. Parallel to this, a legal compliance analysis was carried out by the non-profit organization CEMDA, through an investigation of all applicable permits, standards and norms. Using all the available information, local experts and government officials were invited to participate in technical and legal workshops that resulted in specific measures (maintenance, retrofitting and construction) and recommendations to be carried out along Highway 186. One of the final results of the project is a compendium of technical documents comprised of: the precise geographic location or segment of the highway; the measure proposed at that specific site, such as a modification of existing bridges or culverts or construction of an overpass; land tenure; and social/legal measures associated with the site. There are still areas of good quality habitat that with proper modifications to Highway 186 could provide connectivity for diverse species, and it is not too late to restore these connections and prevent further fragmentation between the northern and southern areas of the reserve. Preventing the advance of land use change in the region will be a greater challenge. This is the first time that such an analysis has been done in Mexico. The methods used can be replicated for other regions working on better integrating transportation and conservation needs. Other organizations with similar data on their region (e.g. hydrology, vegetation, land use, land tenure, habitat use, and wildlife telemetry studies) can easily generate similar recommendations when facing a planned highway project as a barrier to wildlife movement. |
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