Caye Caulker Nature

Protecting the environment is a new idea to the people of Caye Caulker . The "bush" grew faster than some people could cut it. The traditional way to maintain a yard was to cut everything down to the roots with a machete, leaving only clean dead white sand. Baked by the sun and lacking in a layer of humus, this discouraged the sand from sprouting up new "bush". The pesky mosquitoes find no shelter from the cooling trade winds and become less of a nuisance. The Mangrove trees are killed completely to improve the breeze ashore. A seawall is often built cutting off the interface between the land and sea Docks are built close together blocking the sea front. Multiple residences and businesses are built on one lot. The whole thrust is to benefit the individual with no regard for the impact on the environment.

The Conservancy would like to see a new style of development in which the community works together to protect the environment they share.

Caye Caulker Conservancy members have worked hard to demonstrate this new model of development. Docks are spaced widely with hundreds of feet of open seafront between them. These are shared freely by the community. No seawalls are allowed. The natural vegetation is allowed to mix with the homes, providing habitat for lizards, birds, and the bounty of nature. Examples of this may be found in the area of homes between the school and the airstrip.