NEWS: Hansjörg Wyss Provides Catalytic Donation to Protect Second Largest Remaining Tropical Forests in the Americas

Maya Forest Reserve, Belize | Photo credit: The Nature Conservancy

The Wyss Foundation and its founder, philanthropist Hansjörg Wyss, have donated US$9 million to help establish the Maya Forest Reserve in Northwest Belize. The donation resulted in permanent protections for more than 250,000 acres of intact tropical rainforest that were formally announced today by The Nature Conservancy and the Government of Belize.

The Maya Forest Reserve is now a critical linchpin in the conservation of the largest remaining tropical forest in the Americas, outside the Amazon. The gift from Wyss is part of the Wyss Campaign for Nature, his 10-year, US$1 billion commitment to protect at least 30 percent of the planet by 2030. With today’s announcement, the Wyss Foundation issued a statement from Hansjörg Wyss celebrating the significant achievement:

“When I launched the Wyss Campaign for Nature, my goal was to catalyze the efforts of local people and governments working on all corners of the planet to accelerate the pace and scale of land and ocean protections. It is why I approved funding to protect the Maya Forest Reserve from the threat of deforestation. And it is why I proposed expanding my support of conservation efforts in Belize, working alongside communities, civil society, and the government to reinforce Belize’s position as a global leader in the protection of nature. Together, we can safeguard Belize’s incredible biodiversity and contribute to protecting at least 30 percent of the Earth, on land and at sea, by 2030.”

The Maya Forest is a tropical biodiversity hotspot, home to 200 species of trees across a patchwork of forest, savanna, and wetland, as well as over 400 species of birds, over 100 of them migratory. Wildlife that depend on this precious ecosystem include tapir, howler monkeys, and spider monkeys – together with Central America’s largest surviving populations of jaguar, puma, margay, and other native cats. These wildlife and carbon-rich forests tragically face a massive and immediate threat of being cleared for agricultural use, an action which would exacerbate the dual crises facing the planet’s climate and nature.

Permanently protecting the Maya Forest Reserve secures a vital wildlife corridor in Central America’s dwindling forests, and fills a critical gap in a vast forest network called the Selva Maya – 35 million acres of parks and protected areas across Central America. Belize remains a global leader in biodiversity conservation on both land and sea; combined with previously protected areas, a third of the country’s lands and waters now have some level of protection in place. 

Alongside key partners The Nature Conservancy and the Government of Belize, the Wyss Foundation is grateful for the broad coalition of partners that made the Maya Forest Reserve possible, including Swiss funders Symphasis Foundation and Papiliorama Foundation, alongside other contributions from Bobolink Foundation, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, Corozal Sustainable Future Initiative, International Tropical Conservation Fund, Gallon Jug Estate, Global Wildlife Conservation, Mass Audubon, Programme for Belize, The Rainforest Trust, University of Belize Environmental Research Institute, Wildlife Conservation Society, and World Land Trust.