Port Honduras Marine Reserve
Encyclopedia
Port Honduras Marine Reserve is a national protected marine reserve in the Toledo
district of Belize
. It was established in January 2000, and covers 40470 hectares (100,003.5 acre) of mangrove
and coastal ecosystems. It encompasses over one hundred small, mangrove-fringed cayes, benthic
habitats comprising soft-bottom seagrass beds
and fringing reef
s.
The reserve is co-managemened by the community-based Toledo Institute for Development and Environment. It is divided into two zones: a general use zone, and a conservation zone.
Toledo District
Toledo District is the southernmost district in Belize, and Punta Gorda the District capital. Although the least developed region in the country, it features some of the most pristine rainforests, extensive cave networks, coastal lowland plains, and offshore cays...
district of Belize
Belize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
. It was established in January 2000, and covers 40470 hectares (100,003.5 acre) of mangrove
Mangrove
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
and coastal ecosystems. It encompasses over one hundred small, mangrove-fringed cayes, benthic
Benthic zone
The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean or a lake, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. Organisms living in this zone are called benthos. They generally live in close relationship with the substrate bottom; many such...
habitats comprising soft-bottom seagrass beds
Seagrass
Seagrasses are flowering plants from one of four plant families , all in the order Alismatales , which grow in marine, fully saline environments.-Ecology:...
and fringing reef
Fringing reef
A fringing reef is one of the three main types of coral reefs recognized by most coral reef scientists. It is distinguished from the other two main types in that it has either an entirely shallow backreef zone or none at all...
s.
The reserve is co-managemened by the community-based Toledo Institute for Development and Environment. It is divided into two zones: a general use zone, and a conservation zone.