Data Zone
Country/territory: Belize
IBA criteria met: A1, A2, A3 (2007)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 643,963 ha
Site description (2008 baseline)
This IBA encompasses various large terrestrial protected areas in Belize. It is comprised of the Sibun, Vaca, Chiquibul, Maya Mountain, Sittee River, Columbia River, Manatee, Deep River and Mountain Pine ridge Forest Reserves. It includes the following 7 national parks: Five Blues Lake, St. Herman’s and Blue Hole, Billy Barquedeer, Nojkaaxmeen Eligio Panti, Mayflower Bocawina and Payne’s Creek. Three Archaeological Reserves, Barton Creek, Caves Branch and Caracol, are included. Additional protected areas within this IBA include the Bladen Nature Reserve, Victoria Peak and Thousand Foot Falls Natural Monuments and the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary. There are also three private reserves within this IBA: Golden Stream, Block 127 and Runaway Creek.
Key biodiversity
This 645,856 ha area has 411 recorded species of which 310 are residents, 295 are known or thought to breed in the area, 116 are species not known to nest in the area and 101 that are considered migrants. These include species that meet the A1, A2, A3, A4i trigger criteria.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Maya Mountains and southern reserves (Belize). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/maya-mountains-and-southern-reserves-iba-belize on 22/11/2024.