Abstract

Threaten the Conservation of the Jaguar in Mayan Biosphere Reserve
Track: Environmental Management
Authors: Manuel Lepe

The Maya Biosphere Reserve (MBR) is Mesoamerica's largest protected area, and has been internationally recognized as both a "Hotspot for biodiversity, and as a "Last Wild Place, and forms part of Mesoamerica's largest Jaguar Conservation Unit (JCU). There are three main threats to jaguars across the MBR: (1) hunting for bush meat, (2) destruction of habitat due to fire, and (3) direct retaliatory jaguar killing driven by human-jaguar conflicts (e.g. jaguar attacks on livestock, and the associated poor public perception of jaguars). While progress has been made in mitigating the first two threats, resolving human-jaguar conflicts in the southeastern edge of the MBR demands more attention and requires a multi-faceted approach to raise awareness and understanding among ranchers, communities and the public institutions that work with them.