Belize Audubon Society (BAS) is the oldest environmental NGO in Belize and is a membership-based organisation dedicated to the sustainable management of natural resources through leadership and strategic partnerships with stakeholders for the benefit of people and the environment. 

They currently work in 7 national protected areas and focus on protecting Belize’s natural resources while educating the public about their value and sustainable use. BAS strive to be a national conservation leader and development partner that inspires people to live in harmony and benefit from the environment.

The organisation has a number of ongoing projects:

Environmental Education:

• School education outreach and school visits.
• Nature school: provides students with hands-on experiences with nature, teaches environmental stewardship skills, foster problem solving and critical thinking skills and it also supports the national curriculum standards.
• Summer programme: engages its members and the general public, families and children that would not have received this opportunity. Every summer a variety of day camps designed for children, families and teens are carried out.

Community Outreach:

• Adopts a participatory, multi-disciplinary and scientific approach in promoting and integrating conservation and protected areas awareness with sustainable alternative livelihoods.
• Examples of community Outreach projects:

Crooked Tree Wetlands CampaignGreen Wave CampaignFriends of World Heritage (FOWH) Support for Community Empowerment through Alternative Livelihoods for Conservation of the Belize World Heritage Site.
Empowerment of Northern Communities through the Sustainable Livelihoods for the conservation of Belize Barrier Reef World Heritage Site.

Biodiversity Research & Monitoring:

• Designed to provide current and pertinent information to its management team while building institutional capacity and Belize’s scientific knowledge base.
• Examples of long term research carried out in the protected areas co-managed by BAS:

Long-term monitoring of jaguars and pumas and their prey in Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary.
Assessment of families of Lepidoptera (butterflies & moths) and Coleoptera (beetle) at Cockscomb Basin.
Marine research and monitoring within the Lighthouse Reef Atoll.

For more information, visit their website.