Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area — TNC/PfB Climate Action Project (Belize)

The Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area (RBCMA) covers approximately 102,790 hectares of intact broadleaf tropical forest in Orange Walk District, northwest Belize, contiguous with the Maya Biosphere Reserve. It is established and managed by the Programme for Belize (PfB), an NGO co-founded with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in 1989. In 1994, TNC launched the Rio Bravo Climate Action Project within approximately 61,920 hectares of RBCMA under the US Initiative on Joint Implementation, making it one of the world's first voluntary forest carbon projects.

The project aims to halt deforestation and apply sustainable forest management across the climate action sub-project area to avoid or sequester carbon, while protecting biodiversity habitat and the New River and Rio Bravo watersheds that supply water to Orange Walk and Corozal districts. Revenue from carbon credits, sustainable timber and ecotourism is intended to be reinvested into reserve management and local community programmes.

Deforestation was halted and sustainable forest management applied across roughly 61,920 hectares under the US Initiative on Joint Implementation framework. Programme for Belize manages the reserve day-to-day, generating revenue through sustainable timber harvesting, ecotourism and the sale of carbon credits.

The project estimates 8.8 million tonnes of CO2 avoided or sequestered over 40 years through halted deforestation and sustainable forest management. Initial funding of US$5.6 million came from energy companies including Cinergy, Detroit Edison, PacifiCorp, Suncor and Wisconsin Electric Power, and Delta Airlines subsequently became a major purchaser of the project's carbon credits. RBCMA continues to provide habitat for Jaguar, Baird's Tapir, Ocelot, White-lipped Peccary and Scarlet Macaw, forming a wildlife corridor to the Maya Biosphere Reserve in Guatemala.