Help Restore the Maya Golden Landscape

Thanks to your generous support, communities across the Maya Golden Landscape (MGL) are taking meaningful action to protect jaguars while strengthening their own livelihoods. Jaguars are threatened by deforestation, habitat fragmentation, and climate impacts—but farmers are proving that conservation and agriculture can flourish side by side.

Expanding Jaguar-Friendly Farms

Farmers of the Green Creek Cooperative Society in San Jose are expanding cacao agroforestry farms using native timber and fruit tree saplings provided by Ya’axché Conservation Trust. These jaguar-friendly farms increase land productivity, create stable incomes, and restore critical wildlife habitat. Each new tree helps connect forest patches, giving jaguars safer pathways across the landscape.

Across Toledo, farmers from communities such as San Miguel, Medina Bank and Trio, received practical training on setting and using camera traps to monitor wildlife on their farms. These photos help communities better understand which species move through their land—and how their farming practices support biodiversity. This knowledge strengthens local stewardship and pride in conservation.

Livestock loss to jaguars can be devastating for rural families. To prevent retaliatory killings, Ya’axché worked closely with farmers from various communities experiencing jaguar activity on their properties. They received nonlethal deterrents, improved livestock safety tools, and tailored support from our extension team. These solutions help protect farmers’ livelihoods while ensuring jaguars remain safe in their natural habitat.

Inspiring the Next Generation

During the Jaguar Month in November 2025, over a hundred community members, including children and youths, participated in educational activities celebrating Belize’s majestic apex predator. Students learned how jaguars keep forests healthy and why protecting prey species such as peccaries, gibnuts, and agoutis is key to reducing conflict.

One powerful takeaway resonated with everyone:

When forests provide abundant natural prey, jaguars are far less likely to target livestock.

Protecting More Than Jaguars

By restoring habitat for jaguars, communities are also safeguarding a rich web of wildlife, including critically endangered species like the Geoffrey’s spider monkey, Baird’s tapir and white-lipped peccary. Strengthening jaguar corridors improves connectivity and resilience across the entire MGL ecosystem. 

Your support is empowering farmers, restoring forests, and protecting one of Mesoamerica’s most iconic species. Together, we are building a future where both people and wildlife can thrive.