Sites - Important Bird Areas (IBAs)

Summary Maya-Lacandon is an important site for species restricted to the Gulf Caribbean Slope, for waterbirds, and for species requiring large extensions of tropical broadleaf forest. The site covers 19% of Guatemala and is part of the largest Neotropical forest north of the Amazon. Although this IBA is almost entirely legally protected, it faces severe threats by habitat fragmentation, forest fires, illegal logging, and unsustainable use of forest resources.

Ornithological information More than 400 bird species have been recorded in the northern Peten (Beavers 1992). The site is important for 25 species restricted to the Gulf Caribbean Slope. One of the country's largest wetlands–Laguna del Tigre National Park and surroundings–is located in the northwestern part of the IBA. Based on a continental population estimate (Wetlands International 2006) and local estimates (Eisermann 2006), it is assumed that the site holds important parts of regional populations of Bare-throated Tiger-Heron (Tigrisoma mexicanum), Least Grebe (Tachybaptus dominicus), and Wood Stork (Mycteria americana).

Site description The extension of the IBA Maya-Lacandon is almost identical to the Maya Biosphere Reserve, which covers the northern part of the province Peten, equaling 19% of the country. This area forms together with forests in Belize and the Mexican states of Campeche and Quintana Roo the largest Neotropical forest north of the Amazon basin. It is an important continental stronghold for species requiring large forested areas.

Populations of IBA trigger species

Protected areas

Protected area	Designation	Area (ha)	Relationship with IBA	Overlap with IBA (ha)
Cerro Cahuí	Protected Biotope	650	protected area contained by site	0
Complejo III APSP	Zona de Amortiguamiento	123,599	protected area contained by site	123,599
El Pilar	Cultural Monument	1,000	protected area contained by site	1,077
Finca AA	Private Nature Reserve	455	protected area contained by site	0
Finca San José	Private Nature Reserve	65	protected area contained by site	0
La Democracia	Private Nature Reserve	148	protected area contained by site	0
Laguna del Tigre	National Park	289,912	protected area contained by site	289,912
Laguna del Tigre - Río Escondido	Protected Biotope	45,168	protected area contained by site	0
Maya	Multiple Use Zone	497,500	protected area contained by site	0
Maya	UNESCO-MAB Biosphere Reserve	21,129,400	protected area contained by site	2,095,087
Maya	Zona de Amortiguamiento	848,440	protected area contained by site	0
Mirador - Río Azul	National Park	116,911	protected area contained by site	0
Naachtún - Dos Lagunas	Protected Biotope	30,719	protected area contained by site	0
Naachtún-Dos Lagunas	Protected Biotope	30,719	protected area contained by site	0
Parque Nacional Laguna del Tigre	Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar)	335,080	protected area contained by site	0
San Miguel La Palotada - El Zotz	Protected Biotope	34,934	protected area contained by site	0
Sierra del Lacandón	National Park	202,865	protected area contained by site	0
Tikal	National Park	55,005	protected area contained by site	0
Tikal National Park	World Heritage Site	57,600	protected area contained by site	57,600
Yaxhá	Private Nature Reserve	0	protected area contained by site	0
Yaxhá - Nakúm - Naranjo	National Park	37,160	protected area contained by site	0

Habitats

Land ownership State (National Parks and other protected areas), communal (buffer zone of the Maya Biosphere Reserve), and private.

Land use

Management considerations The Maya Biosphere Reserve lacks adequate management, leading in some parts to considerable habitat loss by forest fires, illegal logging, unsustainable use of non-timber forest resources, conversion to agricultural land, and oil exploitation (ParksWatch 2002a-d, 2003a-c, 2005). Extensive habitat loss is expected if all of the recently proposed road constructions are carried out (Amor Conde et al. 2007, Ramos et al. 2007), leading to a projected loss of more than 183000 ha of forest by the year 2025 (Ramos et al. 2007).

Protection status The IBA is entirely legally protected, with exception of Lake Peten Itza (CONAP 2007). The site contains several National Parks and Protected Biotopes, in addition to an expansive Multiple Use Zone. Two National Parks, Laguna del Tigre and Yaxhá-Nakum-Naranjo, have been designated as important wetlands under the Ramsar convention. The area is severely threatened by management deficiencies.

Conservation response The Peregrine Fund researched the raptor community (see references of Baker, Burnham, Gerhardt, Thorstrom, Whitacre, and co-authors). Rapid ecological assessments in several protected areas were carried out by Conservation International (Bestelmeyer & Alonso 2000), CECON (Pérez Consuegra et al. 2001), and Wildlife Conservation Society - Guatemala (Radachowsky et al. 2004). Impact of hunting activity has been studied by Morales (1993a,b) and Morales & Morales (1998). Currently Wildlife Conservation Society - Guatemala monitors populations of indicator species (large mammals, Scarlet Macaws Ara macao, and Ocellated Turkeys Meleagris ocellata) and the impact of human activities on the Maya Biosphere Reserve (McNab et al. 2004, Ramos et al. 2007).

Acknowledgements Wildlife Conservation Society - Guatemala provided references and unpublished data, and hosted a workshop to identify IBAs in Peten in July 2006. Input of unpublished data and suggestions for the delimitation of the IBA were provided during this workshop by representatives of Consejo Nacional de Areas Protegidas (CONAP) - Peten, ProPeten, Wildlife Conservation Society - Guatemala, and Tikal National Park. This first assessment of IBAs in Guatemala was conducted by Sociedad Guatemalteca de Ornitología and BirdLife International in the Americas.

References 

Amor Conde, D., I. Burgués, C. Manterola & J. Reid. 2007. Análisis ambiental y económico de proyectos carreteros en la Selva Maya, un estudio a escala regional. Conservation Strategy Fund - Conservación Estratégica. Serie Técnica No. 9.

Baker, A. J., D. F. Whitacre & O. Aguirre B. J. 1996. Observations of King Vultures (Sarcoramphus papa) drinking and bathing. Raptor Research 30: 246-247.

Baker, A. J., D. F. Whitacre, O. A. Aguirre-Barrera, J. López A. & C. M. White. 1999a. Observations of a Double-toothed Kite Harpagus bidentatus hawking bats. J. Raptor Res. 33: 343-344.

Baker, A. J., D. F. Whitacre, O. A. Aguirre-Barrera & C. M. White. 2000a. The Orange-breasted Falcon Falco deiroleucus in Mesoamerica: a vulnerable, disjunct population? Bird Conserv. Int. 10:29-40.

Baker, A. J., O. A. Aguirre-Barrera, D. F. Whitacre & C. M. White. 2000b. First record of a Barred Forest-Falcon (Micrastur ruficollis) nesting in a cliff pothole. Ornitol. Neotrop. 11:81-82.

Beavers, R. A. 1992. The birds of Tikal: an annotated checklist for Tikal National Park and Petén, Guatemala. Texas A&M Univ. Press, College Station.

Bestelmeyer, B. T. & L. A. Alonso. 2000. A biological assessment of Laguna del Tigre National Park, Petén, Guatemala. RAP Bull. of Biological Assessment 16.

Burnham, W. A., D. F. Whitacre & J. P. Jenny. 1994. The Maya Project: use of raptors as tools for conservation and ecological monitoring of biological diversity. En: Meyburg, B. U. & R. D. Chancellor (eds). Raptor Conservation Today. Pp. 257-264. World Working Group on Birds of Prey, The Pica Press.

CONAP. 2007. Lista de áreas protegidas inscritas en el SIGAP. Consejo Nacional de Áreas Protegidas (CONAP), Guatemala. (Database accessed in June 2007)

Eisermann, K. 2005. An observation of foliage-bathing by an Orange-breasted Falcon (Falco deiroleucus) in Tikal, Guatemala. Wilson Bulletin 117: 415-418.

Eisermann, K. 2006. Evaluation of waterbird populations and their conservation in Guatemala. Final report. Sociedad Guatemalteca de Ornitología, Guatemala. Online at: www.avesdeguatemala.org/avesacuaticas.htm

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Gerhardt, R. P., D. M. Gerhardt & M. A. Vásquez. 1997. Siblicide in Swallow-tailed Kites. Wilson Bull. 109:112-120.

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MAGA. 2006. Mapa de cobertura vegetal y uso de la tierra a escala 1:50,000 de la República de Guatemala, Año 2003 (Incluye 5 cultivos perennes actualizados al año 2005). Memoria técnica y descripción de resultados. Ministerio de Agricultura Ganadería y Alimentación –MAGA– / Unidad de Planificación Geográfica y Gestión de Riesgo –UPGGR–, Guatemala Ciudad, Guatemala.

McNab, R. B., N. Solis Monroy, V. H. Ramos, J. López & T. Dubón. 2004. Preliminary report: the current distribution of the Ocellated Turkey (Meleagris ocellata) in Guatemala. Wildlife Conservation Society Guatemala, Flores, Guatemala. (unpublished report).

Morales, J. 1993a. Caracterización etnozoológica de la actividad de cacería en la comunidad de Uaxactún, Flores, Petén. Tesis de Licenciatura, Univ. San Carlos, Guatemala.

Morales, J. R. 1993b. Descripciones básicas de la actividad de cacería y estimación ad-libitum de la mastofauna observada en el área de inventario forestal de la comunidad de Uaxactún. En: Morales, J. R. Informe final de Ejercicio Profesional Supervisado realizado en Unión Mundial para la Conservación de la Naturaleza. Univ. San Carlos, Guatemala.

Morales, C. P. & J. Morales. 1998. Registro de la actividad de cacería en temporada de extracción de resina de chicle en Uaxactún, Reserva de la Biosfera Maya, Petén, Guatemala. Compendio fases I y II. Informe final. Organización para la conservación y el ambiente. Guatemala.

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Whitacre, D. F. 1998. The Peregrine Fund’s Maya Project: ecological research, habitat conservation, and development of human resources in the Maya Forest. En: R. B. Primack, D. B. Bray, H. A. Galletti & I. Ponciano (eds). Timber, tourists, and temples: conservation and development in the Maya forest of Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico. Pp. 241-266. Island Press.

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