Belize Lodge and Excursions Ltd. (BLE) is a unique ecotourism company located in the 12 mile Golden Stream Corridor of southern Belize. BLE currently operates two lodges and provides a variety of adventure activities for tourists.
In December 2002, Verde Ventures invested $100,000 in BLE. The company is using the 5 year loan to complete construction of two ecolodges; to reforest 6,800 hectares (17,000 acres) of biologically rich private land; and to patrol the reserve.
Previously the site of a logging operation and citrus plantation, the area now owned by BLE is home to 500 bird species and 5 species of wild cats. As the primary employer for the area, BLE provides tourism jobs for 150 local Maya, many of who worked as loggers and sawmill operators. Employment with BLE provides an economic alternative to natural resource extraction. Additionally, BLE contributes a percentage of daily tourism revenue to the protection of this private reserve.
The Boden Creek Ecological Reserve is a private reserve made up of 7,600 acres of lowland tropical broadleaf forest owned and operated by BLE and is one of the five core parcels that make up the Golden Stream Conservation Corridor. BLE is committed to sustainable land use through sound ecotourism and conservation management practices of land, wildlife and forest resources.
Through the establishment of the BCER, BLE hopes to contribute to the overall preservation of tropical rainforest ecosystems by protecting a highly endangered and threatened habitat containing many vulnerable plant and animal species. Through these resource management practices BLE provides sustainable economic alternatives to biodiversity destruction and acts as responsible stewards of wildlife, forest, river, coastal, and other natural resources.
The overall BLE programs, in sustainable well managed land uses, provides precious job opportunities to the surrounding Maya communities and helps develop valuable skills through extensive job training in ecotourism services, and wildlife and forest management enterprises.
BLE, a private sector company, is currently one of the largest employers in the southern Toledo District and provides meaningful employment and significant increases in household income to the indigenous people. At the same time BLE is working towards developing better local understanding of conservation and environmental issues and provides alternatives to destructive slash and burn agricultural.
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