- - food security through biodiversity - -

Fire sweeps the valley:

On the evening of Monday, May 19th, 2008, we saw a glow on the horizon. A quick trip to the top of the hill confirmed what we already knew - that our neighbor two hills over had lit his annual fire to clear for rice plantation.

Tuesday, May 20th; flames once again lit the evening skyline, this time one hill closer to the farm.

Wednesday, May 21st; around 2:30 pm, the sound of approaching fire alerted us to the impending peril. With winds sweeping from the east, MMRF staff quickly judged the location of the fire and knew our classroom and staff housing were in danger. Everyone on site rushed to work. Buckets of water, machetes to chop firebreaks and hard work paid off; no structures were lost. By 11pm we ate, then fell asleep exhausted.

Thursday, May 22nd; we continued to prepare for the Truman University group expected in the evening, all the while with a wary eye to the surrounding hillsides that would suddenly burst into flame, then die down. At 2:00 pm, the far end of the pasture caught fire. Flames leaped high in the air, smoke choked the kitchen staff, floating embers ignited spot fires throughout the agroforestry system. Staff continued to fight the fire, but at 3:30 we decided to evacuate the main site. When we returned, with the arriving students, we saw all the buildings still standing.

Friday, May 23rd and Saturday the 24th; spot fires continued to spark up, but die out for lack of fuel.

Sunday, May 25th; blessed rain.

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MAYA MOUNTAIN
RESEARCH FARM
San Pedro Columbia
P.O. Box 153
Punta Gorda
Belize, C.A.
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It’s still too early for a complete assessment, but this uncontained milpa fire burnt an estimated 400-500 acres. Of the 70 acres on which MMRF is situated, between 50 and 60 burnt to the ground. The fire worked its way in a circle sparing most of MMRF’s cultivated areas, but burning the natural ecosystem and destroying thousands of young timber trees. The wildlife dependent on this habitat have been forced to migrate elsewhere for food – toucans have come right inside the kitchen to eat bananas.

The cultivated areas have lost coconuts, criollo cacao, pineapples, some large teak trees and a few other species. The ecological services provided by our uncultivated areas have been severely degraded. Most of the carbon has been released, the canopy is nearly gone, the habitat is destroyed. When rainy season begins in a week or two, we expect severe erosion to result from the unprotected soil.

The Next Stage:

Ecological restoration of these fire damaged areas. We’ve invited the MMRF staff from Columbia Village to plant as much corn as they want – the land is pretty easy to clear once it’s burnt to the ground! Then we’ll plant a mix of species within their cornfields. We’re selecting timber species, leguminous species, bio-mass accumulators. Noone on site has experience in restoration of tropical eco-systems devastated by fire, we would welcome researchers with interest or expertise in this area. Seeds for reforestation are being generously provided by Trees for the Future.