Mesoamérica Foundation

Calakmul Biosphere Reserve

The Calakmul Biosphere Reserve lies in the southeast of the state of Campeche in the municipality of Calakmul. It is bordered on the east by the state of Quintana Roo and on the south by Guatemala. The Calakmul Reserve protects the largest area of tropical forest in Mexico, including part of the Maya Forest. In 1993, it became a part of the international network of programs known as UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Program (MAB).

Presently, it is one of twenty-five pilot areas selected for practicing new systems of management and administration of the Program for Natural Protected Areas of Mexico (1995-2000). The first initiative to create a reserve in Calakmul began in 1989 as a result of interest in protecting its various archeological sites. Due to research of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) and the Center for Social History Research at the Autonomous University of Campeche we began to understand the enormous importance and value of Calakmul. The reserve was declared with only minimal information because the previous studies revealed that the design of the reserve had been done in a superficial manner and did not include the consensus of all of the local populations.

Biodiversity

Calakmul lies in the most important tropical forest region in North America. It forms part of the Mesoamerican biological corridor, in an area where species from the Yucatan Peninsula, the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and El Peten coexist. The area is home to approximately 86 species of mammals, 18 of which are included in the Official Registry of Mexican Ecology (NOM-059-ECOL/1994), which determines which species and subspecies of flora and fauna of the forests and aquatic environments are in danger of extinction, threatened, rare, or subject to special protection. Five of the six cats that exist in Mexico are found in Calakmul: jaguar (Panthera onca), puma (Puma concolor), ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), margay (Leopardus wiedii), and jaguarondi (Herpaolurus yagouaroundi).

In terms of birds, 358 species have been identified, of which 113 are found in the Endangered Species List (NOM-059-ECOL/1994) including the king vulture (Sarcoramphus papa), ocellated turkey (Agriochars ocellata), hawk eagle (Spizaetus ornatus), and parrots like Amazona albinifrons. Of all the species of birds identified in this region, approximately 60 are migratory. There are also 75 species of reptiles, 18 species of amphibians, and 31 species of fish, of which the most abundant is the family Cichlidae, with eight species. Inventories of butterflies have documented about 380 species. The flora of Calakmul is represented by approximately 1,500 species, 10 percent of which are endemic, including 73 species of orchids.

Threats

The Calakmul Biosphere Reserve is considered critically threatened, which implies that it is necessary to take immediate measures to prevent the failure of the protection and maintenance of its biological diversity. A number of important threats originate from human activities, like forest fires, illegal logging, deforestation, hunting of wild animals, and highways. The most significant threats are the forest fires and deforestation that are principally a result of the rise in population and the subsequent conversion of forest for agriculture and livestock. We consider potential threats to be the opening of new highways for large tourist projects like the Maya World and the Management and Sustainable Extraction of Wildlife (UMAS), which currently extracts wild animals around the towns located in the southeast region of the reserve.

Geography

This reserve is part of the second largest area of tropical forests in North America, the Maya Forest. It is located in the southeast of the state of Campeche, bordered in the east by the state of Quintana Roo and Guatemala to the south. The coordinates of its borders are as follows: 19 15' and 17 45'N and 90 10' and 89 15' W. The reserve covers 723,185 ha, of largely homogeneous topography ranging in altitude from 260 to 385 m. The climate is warm subtropical, with the mean annual temperature of 27 degrees Celsius and a low of 18 degrees Celsius, receiving a mean annual precipitation of 750 mm (Arriaga et al. 2000, DOF 1994).

The geology of Calakmul includes the oldest rock formations on the Yucatan Peninsula. In this region there are formations from the Paleocene, including limestone rocks with the presence of nodules of flint, chalk and sometimes badly preserved micro fauna (Garcia-Gil 2001). The types of relief in the reserve include: flat lands, karstic valleys, zones of erosion, and the presence of a karstic plateau in 65 percent of the territory. The slopes exhibit superficial intermittent drainage and in the north they form superficial micro basins of temporal accumulation. The terrain is highly permeable with a phreatic level up to 200 m of depth (Morales & Magana 2001).

The geological characteristics of the region dictate that the majority of water is found in depressions called "bajos" that contain quaternary alluvial deposits products of the dilution and transport of limestone rock. The low areas of intermittent flooding, as well as those areas permanently inundated are referred to as "aguadas". The lagoons and depressions form part of a system of sinkholes, which in turn are part of an extraordinary marsh that provides shelter to large number of animal species from the adjacent forest (Garcia & March 1990, Boege & Fuentes 2000).

The tall semi-deciduous forests are found on mountains with gentle slopes, reach heights of over 30 m and cover a surface area of less than 10,000 ha. The medium semi-deciduous forests cover the largest area of the reserve, 480,000 ha, and range in height from 15 to 25 m. The short semi-deciduous forests are prone to flooding and cover an area of approximately 85,000 ha, with heights ranging from 4 to 15 m. Twenty five to 50 percent of the semi-deciduous species lose their leaves (Arriaga et al. 2000, Morales & Magana 2001).

The reserve contains several of the most important archeological sites in the region. The ruins are remnants of the great Mayan cities built between 500 B.C. and 900 A.D. (Boege & Fuentes 2000). The Calakmul site stands out because of its size and prominence within the forest. Its importance as a commercial and urban center during the classical period was comparable with the city of Tikal in Guatemala, and at the time, a socioeconomic and political rivalry existed between these two cities. Other outstanding sites in the reserve and surrounding area includes El Ramonal, X'pujil, Becan Chicanna, and Hormiguero, in addition to numerous other sites scattered throughout the forests.

The forest of Calakmul protects a high diversity of animal and plant species, some of which are classified among the various categories of endangered species outlined in the Official Registry of Mexican Ecology. The large cats are among the most notable, with five of the six species in Mexico present in the reserve: the jaguar (Panthera onca), puma (Puma concolor), ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), margay (Leopardus wiedii), and the jaguarondi (Herpaolurus yagouaroundi).

To date, 86 species of mammals have been identified within the reserve (Sosa et al. 1999) including the white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and the Yucatán brown brocket deer (Mazama pandora), which is endemic to Mexico. In the Yucatan Peninsula, Guatemala, and Belize the howler monkey (Alouatta pigra) and the spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi) are in danger of extinction. Also found in the region are six of the eight marsupials of Mexico, for example (Marmosa canescens) and (Didelphis marsupialis). Other threatened species include the anteater (Tamandua mexicana), the white-lipped peccary (Tajassu pecari), and the tapir (Tapirus bairdii).

The 385 species of birds that have been identified are distributed among 19 orders and 62 families. Sixty of these species are migratory, two species are endemic to the Yucatan Peninsula, and 32 are threatened, including the king vulture (Sarcoramphus papa), the hawk eagle (Spizaetus tyrannus), the ocellated turkey (Agriocharis ocellata), and the royal duck (Cairina moschta), the latter being in danger of extinction.

There are 75 species of reptiles and 18 species of amphibians in the reserve, which represents 70 percent of the amphibians found in the Yucatan Peninsula (Pozo et al.1998). Thirty-five of the species of reptiles and 5 species of amphibians are considered threatened, in danger, rare, or in need of special protection according to the Official Registry of Mexican Ecology. Currently, 31 species of fish have been identified, most prominent of which is the family Chichilidae, represented by eight species. Up to the year 2000, inventories of butterflies had documented 380 species, although the total number is estimated at 500 (Pozo et al. 1998, 2000).

The flora of Calakmul represents 390 genera and over 1,500 species, of which 10 percent are endemic, including five genera of Ciperaceae that are associated with the sinkhole habitats. The most recent species inventories have reported three new families for the Yucatan Peninsula: Hymenophyllaceae, Canellaceae, and Trigonaceae. Flora species include 837 dichotoledons and 43 species of monocotyledons, as well as 73 species of orchids.

Management

The reserve was established on May 23, 1989, and its management plan was published in 1997. The plan covers the physical, biological, and socioeconomic aspects of the reserve. The management program is subdivided into components that integrate conservation, public use and recreation, research and monitoring, social development, administration, coordination, and evaluation of the management program, as well as a list of flora and fauna of the protected area (INE 1999).

The National Commission on Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) is in charge of the administration and management of the reserve and is a decentralized part of the Secretary of the Environment and Natural Resources. The Calakmul Reserve has an area of 723,185 hectares and is divided into two core areas and one buffer area. The first core area is located in the southeast portion of the reserve with an area of 147,915 hectares, and the second core area is located in the northern part of the reserve and contains 100,345 hectares. These two core areas comprise 248,260 hectares, and are surrounded by a 474,924-hectare buffer zone. The reserve borders the state of Quintana Roo and has an international border with Guatemala (CONANP 2001, INE 1999). The boundary coordinates are 19 15' and 17 45'N and 90 10' and 89 15' W.

The different categories of property rights within the reserve have the following distribution: 49.6 percent municipal property, 2 percent private property, and 48.4 percent national public property. The inhabitants that live within the reserve are from the states of Tabasco, Veracruz, Chiapas, and Michoacan, and their principal activities involve agriculture and livestock (Morales and Ojeda 1990).

Regarding the management of the reserve, in the two core areas the only activities permitted are scientific research and conservation and new human activities are allowed. It must be mentioned that a great number of archeological remains are found within the two core areas, as is the case with the archeological site called Calakmul, which is found in the southern part. This site represents one of the most important Mayan ruins in the region, and is visited by a great number of tourists that arrive on the paved road that runs through the forest. The buffer area is divided into the following five zones related to permitted activities: 1) controlled extraction, 2) intensive extraction, 3) protection of natural resources, 4) multiple uses, and 5) cultural history. In the buffer area some regulated activities are permitted under the management plan including extraction of forest products, agriculture, livestock, urban development, and tourism (INE 1999).

The administration of the reserve has an office in Zoh Laguna, three observation stations, a tourist information center, and campsites for a project on beekeeping. The basic staff of the reserve includes the director, sub director, an administrator, five project managers, four field officers, ten guards, two assistants, and various students based in the community of Xpujil who are conducting social service with scholarships from the State of Campeche; thus, the total number of employees is 24. This team has 10 vehicles including motorcycles and pickup trucks, as well as equipment like computers and radios. The annual federal budget is 800,000 pesos ($80,000) for operating expenses. Other financial support comes from the Funds for Natural Protected Areas (FANP) and the Global Environment Fund (GEF). In 2001 Calakmul received 990,881 pesos from these sources and is expected to receive 990,696 pesos for 2002.

Human Influence

The Calakmul Biosphere Reserve is located in municipality of the same name, which was recently created in 1996. In this municipality there are 61 towns, 27 communities, covering an area of 1,680,580 hectares of which 43 percent is within the biosphere reserve. The estimated population of the municipality is 18,902 people, who are located mainly in the towns and on private ranches. The communities are rural, the largest of which is Xpujil, with the population of 1,213 people, which functions as the municipality's center. Within the reserve live 3,000 people of which at least 10 percent are transient (INEGI 1995). Thirteen percent of the inhabitants work in service industries such as tourism, transportation, commerce, and construction, while 87 percent work in agriculture and livestock.

The main road used to access the reserve is federal highway number 186 Escarcenga-Chetumal (E-W). This highway divides the northern core area and the buffer area. Another road that allows access to this region is called Hopelchen (N-S), which runs towards Xpujil; this highway crosses the southern core area. There are also secondary roads with access to the Zoh Lagoon and the archeological regions of the reserve. Most of the towns are connected with tertiary roads (INE 1995).

Infrastructure and services in Calakmul are scarce; towns with electricity are in the minority and even these are poorly served. Water is scarce in the region and the dry months between November and June are very difficult for the inhabitants. In some communities they do not have wells or waterholes and they have to carry their water from the Alvarado Lagoon located in the southeastern part of the municipality. The town of Xpujil has mail, telephones, a market, shops, a school, a health clinic, and various governmental offices (Steadman 1997, Morales & Magana 2001).

Tourism

National and international tourism is concentrated primarily around the archeological sites with most tourists arriving with tour groups from Cancun and the Federal District; the tourists generally arrive in buses and vans supplied by their travel agencies. The tourists usually spend one or two nights in local hotels, which have approximately 100 beds available as well as restaurants and bars. The hotels are found along the federal highway, in the communities of Xpujil, and near the Zoh Lagoon (Boege & Fuentes 2000). The annual number of tourists ranges from 10,000 to 50,000, but there is no inventory of the income generated by them.

Part of this tourism is long distance tourism, in which groups of tourists have trips planned long before they arrive. These tourists rely on their travel agents, who are generally from outside the region, to provide them with services including transportation, food, and guides. This type of tourism involves very little contact with the local people, drastically reducing interaction with employees such as waiters and janitors in the hotels, work that is low-skill and poorly paid (Boege & Fuentes 2000).

Within the reserve there is infrastructure to support tourism on a small-scale, and along the federal highway there are a few large hotels or "eco-villas" that cater to group tours. Presently ecotourism is on the rise, reinforced and directed by the Civil Association of Tourism Providers of Calakmul, which has local guides trained by the Yucatan branch of Pronatura. Part of the profits from this association is reinvested in conservation projects in the reserve and its surrounding areas (Andrews 1994).

Conservation & Research

The primary efforts to protect the archeological remains of Calakmul were accomplished thanks to the research of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) and the Center for Social History Research at the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Campeche. Pronatura had its first contact with the reserve through small projects and its research will focus on filling gaps in the basic information about the region and promoting the creation of associated reserves (Folan et al. 1999, Boege & Fuentes 2000).

Some of the civil associations that work in the region include Pronatura, Biocensis A.C., and three organizations in the town, funded by the MacArthur Foundation, that have projects involving the sustainable management of hunting, monitoring, and demographic research. Other non-profit organizations that participate in conservation in this region include Naturaleza Compartida (NaCom), Tourism Providers of Calakmul, and Bosque Modelo. They are involved in community projects in environmental education, agricultural reform, agroforestry, beekeeping, planting, composting, latrines, ecotourism, as well as a program called the Management and Sustainable Extraction of Wildlife and Birds (UMAS). In addition, Conservation International participates in several sustainable development projects in the Maya Forest.

The administration considers the following research and conservation projects to be under its direction: prevention of forest fires, environmental education, research and biological monitoring, a program for the support of the jaguar, social development, eco-regional planning on land management, organic agriculture, and a reforestation project financed through donations from the Ford Foundation.

Some of the organizations currently conducting research in Calakmul include the Center for Scientific Research in the Yucatan (CICY), which currently conducts inventories of the region's flora. The College of the Southern Border (ECOSUR) together with Clark University works on the project "Changes in vegetative cover and soil use in the southern region of the Yucatan Peninsula". Stanford University works with projects on "wildlife and geographical information systems (GIS)". Students from the Universities of Cheturnal and Campeche participate in research projects and study "habitat use, inventories, and monitoring of the ducks, bats, butterflies, amphibians, reptiles, and monkeys". Pronatura works on a project called "water quality and it use by the population". The National Autonomous University of Mexico and the civil association Friends of Calakmul work on projects monitoring jaguar populations.

Specialists in the region include: Gerardo García (cartography and land tenure), Eckart Boege (conservation), Esteban Martínez (botanical collections), Ignacio March and Marcelo Aranda (mammal inventories), Mauro Berlanga (bird inventories), Antonio Muños (amphibians), and W. Folan (archeology).

Current Threats

- Population growth
- Conflicts between the administration and local people
- Subsistence hunting and poaching
- Slash and burn agriculture
- Highways and roads
- Tourist infrastructure
- Poor reserve design
- Lack of coordination between conservation and development organizations

Population growth

Population growth within the municipality has fluctuated, although it began experiencing rapid growth in the 1980s. At that time, the reserve had 60 communities, and 18 more developed in the early 1990s. Currently the communities are experiencing immigration as well as high birthrates. As a result, human pressure on the area has risen remarkably, especially in the form of agriculture and ranching.

Conflicts between the administration and the local population

Immigrants from 23 states within Mexico were attracted to this region by government programs of land distribution in the 1960s. This resulted in a local population with diverse cultures, customs, and land use strategies, the majority of whom are not aware of the objectives of the reserve or land use regulations.

Subsistence hunting and poaching

The inhabitants of the region have practiced subsistence hunting since they arrived to colonize the forest, but this activity is increasingly impacting the wildlife due to population growth. Eighty percent of the hunting done by the communities is for their own consumption, while the rest represents sport hunting or poaching. Another pressure on the wildlife is poaching from military units that are active in the reserve.

Slash and burn agriculture

Traditional slash and burn agriculture is an activity that produces significant impacts on the medium semi-deciduous forest because it is in this vegetation type where the majority of human activities take place. The medium forest represents one of the most important resources for the reserve and it is being destroyed and burned to clear the land for cultivation. The harvests are not productive due to the poor soil quality, erosion, and the subsequent soil loss. These changes in the soil result in the land being transferred from agriculture to intensive ranching. In addition, current agriculture methods lead to forest fires which are a serious threat to the reserve.

Highways and roads

Since the creation of the reserve, highways and roads have been a problem, mainly because the reserve's two main roads cross each of the core areas. This poor reserve design illustrates that the selection of the core areas is not the most important consideration in the conservation of biodiversity. The southern core area is particularly problematic because it does not have a buffer zone and several towns border it.

A latent threat to the region is the proposed development of a tourist mega complex called Maya World. This includes a plan to build a highway connecting the reserve town of Xpujil with Tikal National Park in Guatemala. They road proposal has been abandoned for now, but construction large hotels continues.

Tourism infrastructure

The region suffers from a scarcity of water and the small amount that is available near human settlements is reserved for tourists. Tourism activity has been increasing which has brought more economic opportunities but also higher expectations for local people in addition to more immigrants looking for jobs. The current rapid population growth and the construction infrastructure of large hotels could soon create a water crisis because it will not be possible to meet the needs of both the inhabitants and the tourist industry.

Poor reserve design

The demarcation of reserve boundaries did not take into account the location of towns, or the land use or opinions of local people. Also, the designers did not take into account several areas especially important for the conservation of biological diversity. The design of the core areas has resulted in sensitive areas being located adjacent to town without a buffer zone. For this reason some core areas are very vulnerable to slash and burn agriculture, as well as poaching and wildlife trafficking.

Lack of coordination between conservation and development organizations

Activities involving conservation, monitoring, human use, and the management of the reserve's natural resources are often in contradiction with the conservation of its biodiversity. Some programs permit activities that are incompatible with soil conservation, for example the Program for Farm Support (PROCAMPO), which paid farmers that could demonstrate that they had planted corn, even though this created an incentive to clear the land for planting. The Secretary of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fish, and Food (SAGARPA) also offers livestock credits that promote the creation of pastures. In addition, many government and non-governmental organizations lack the organization necessary to take advantage of information sharing and partnerships with other organizations, in order to be more effective and efficient, and to avoid duplicating efforts.

Recommended Solutions

Population growth

The high birth rate in the rural regions of Calakmul during the 1980's (6.19)-- considerably higher than the national average of 3.29--as well as a high rate of immigration, resulted in rapid population growth in the region. ParksWatch suggests that national health institutions send greater numbers of health brigades to the rural areas to initiate family planning campaigns.

Towns are expanding, which due to poor planning and design of the reserve, is affecting sensitive areas of the reserve. Parts of the core areas do not have buffer areas and towns are located directly on its borders. We believe, along with other institutions that work in the area, that an important strategy for the future would be the redesign of the core areas within the reserve and also the creation of a registry for the territories of the communities.

Conflicts between the administration of the reserve of the local population

It is important that the programs run by the administration concentrate on environmental education. They should also promote communication between administrators and locals in order to explain the objectives of not only sustainable development programs, but the objectives of the reserve itself. Information dissemination programs should include workshops and classes that cover topics such as alternative means of exploiting the natural resources, like the Programs on Sustainable Development (PRODERS), that promotes the reserves' objectives in the communities. To achieve these goals, it will be necessary to hire more reserve personnel dedicated to environmental education and sustainable development projects.

Subsistence hunting and poaching

The Management and Sustainable Extraction of Wildlife and Birds (UMAS) was established in several of the towns in the region of Calakmul, but at this time there is no information about the management, monitoring, and actual levels of exploitation. We recommend the strict evaluation and monitoring of UMAS in order to understand the achievements, opportunities, and efficiency of this governmental program. This information will allow us to understand the extent to which the government has addressed the issues of subsistence and poaching in the reserve. Poaching and the trafficking of wild animals is a problem throughout the reserve and, therefore, it is necessary to solicit the Federal Environmental Protection Program (PROFEPA) to coordinate with state and federal authorities already working in the reserve in order to control the exploitation of wildlife.

Slash and burn agriculture

Currently, there exist projects that promote organic agriculture that is compatible with sustainable soil use, in addition to promoting the diversification of production to include honey and other non-timber forest products, and certified woods. The development of ecotourism could also supplement income earned through agriculture. These projects should continue to be promoted in order to foster a more sustainable long-term relationship between the people and the environment, in order to reduce the impact of traditional agricultural practices and at the same time, improve yields. We also recommend workshops and training sessions with the farmers on fire prevention and containment.

Highways and roads

We propose implementing studies that evaluate and monitor the effects that the highways in reserve's core zones have on the flora, fauna, and ecological processes of the forest. The results of these studies, as well as those derived from the analysis of population growth and increased human activity since the construction of the highways, could be used to argue in favor of a new design for the reserve.

Tourist infrastructure

The marketing of tourist activities and archeological sites in the area has generated an increase in the tourism industry as well as the demand for constructing infrastructure and providing services. However, the scarcity of water in the region requires that these activities be well planned and contain studies on the impact on surrounding territories and human activities. This should involve participation and coordination with SEMARNAT to achieve a thorough understanding of the environmental impact caused by the growing tourism industry.

Poor reserve design

ParksWatch believes the design of the reserve should be improved, involving the participation of all stakeholders in the region. We believe that the current reserve design does not guarantee the protection and conservation of the most biologically diverse areas and has caused numerous conflicts with local people.

Detrimental policies and lack of coordination between the government and NGOs

Better coordination should exist between different institutions and organizations that work in the region. The regional council is working on this problem and could become a means for coordinating other groups in the area. This would result in a better use of economic resources in order not to duplicate efforts and to maximize efficiency. Continuity and support should be given to the projects that work to minimize impacts on the reserve, for example organic agriculture, ecotourism, and sustainable development alternatives. Additionally, we should analyze the different programs that operate in the region so that their objectives do not contradict one another.

Conclusions

The Calakmul Biosphere Reserve is experiencing significant pressures due to increasing population growth, immigration, agricultural development, and ranching. Poor agricultural yields and depleted soils cause farmers to clear more forest for agriculture each year. The poor reserve design has facilitated significant impacts on flora and fauna, which is exacerbated by the lack of a clear definition of the correct uses of each part of the reserve. Immediate coordination between the different governmental and non-governmental organizations active in the reserve and along its borders is necessary to develop an integrated strategy to allow full understanding of the problems and why they exist. The current status of the reserve should be considered critically threatened, thus requiring immediate action to ensure the protection of its biodiversity.