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Pricing biodiversity protection

October 11, 2016

As habitat loss, climate change and human intervention continue to threaten our species, conservation takes on an increasingly important role. But that comes at a price. Just how high is it? 

https://p.dw.com/p/2R6JB
A red macaw
Image: DW/K. Döhne

Species preservation in Chiquibul

Project goal: Biofin wants to find out how much it costs to protect biodiversity in Belize. Efforts are also underway to find possible alternative financing.
Project budget: Biofin is part of theInternational Climate Initiative  (IKI) and funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) with 17,300,000 euros.
Project implementation: Hannah St. Luce Martinez is country coordinator for Biofin in Belize  and has been charged with establishing how much financing is needed where to protect biodiversity. 
Project size: The whole of Belize. The Chiquibul Jungle, with its 1,700 square kilometers of forest, is one of the main areas of implementation. 
Biodiversity: The Chiquibul Jungle is considered one of the most biodiverse areas in Belize. 

The Chiquibul Jungle in Belize is regarded as a national treasure, but biodiversity in the vast wooded area bordering Guatemala is a complex thing. Conservation projects, including for imposing species such as the scarlet macaw or the jaguar - as well as the deployment of armed rangers to protect against poaching -are expensive. So exactly how much does Belize have to pay for wildlife protection, and where does the money come from? 

A film by Katja Döhne