KNOWLEDGE ABOUT BELIZEAN NATURAL HISTORY AND CULTURAL HERITAGE, TROPICAL RAINFORESTS, ENVIRONMENTAL INTER- PRETATION, ECOTOURISM, AND SUSTAINABILITY


Who named Belize and why?
What U.S. state is the same size as Belize?
What are the top 3 industries in Belize?
What is the population of Belize?
What are some of the major social problems in Belize?
What are some major causes of deforestation in Belize?
What percentage of Belize is designated as national park, wildlife refuge, or some other protected area (public and private)?

Do Belize’s national parks create true protection or are they merely “paper parks?”
Can private initiatives conserve ecosystems as effectively as protected areas?
What can be done to address the loss of biodiversity?
What is forest fragmentation?
What is the significance of nodes (patches) and linkages (forest corridors)?
Why are biological corridors important?
What “environmental services” do tropical rainforests provide?
What is carbon sequestration?
How do tropical rainforest animals hide?
Why are there no tree rings on trees in Belize?
What is a “debt for nature swap?”
What are the layers in a tropical rainforest?
What is the neotropical songbird connection?
What are epiphytes? What are bromeliads?
In what ways are orchids sexy seducers?
Plant sex:  How do plants win and influence pollinators?
Trace the coevolution of figs and wasps
Discuss the mutualism/symbiosis of ants and plants: Cecropia (trumpet) tree and Aztec ants, bull horn acacia or cockspur and a species of ant of the genus Pseudomyrmes
What is a strangler fig?  How does it grow?
What is a canopy root? What are buttress roots?
Why do leaf cutter ants cut leaves?  What do they eat?
What are some examples of plant defenses?
Describe the Heleconia.
What is the ecological significance of butterflies?
What is the difference between a butterfly and a moth?
Trace the life cycle of a butterfly.
How does the blue morpho butterfly foil predators?  In general, how do butterflies defend themselves from predators?
What are some medicinal herbs/plants found in Belize, and what are they used for?
What scientific research is being carried out in Belize’s tropical rainforests?
Discuss commodification of the rainforest.

What are some major benefits of ecotourism?
What are some major problems/conflicts resulting from ecotourism?
How can the environmental stresses generated by ecotourism be minimized?
What are some major barriers to ecotourism?
How can ecotourism promote self-determination of locals in an age of economic globalization?
Does ecotourism promote sustainability, or does it lead to development as destructive as agriculture?
What is the relationship between art and crafts and ecotourism?  Between arts and crafts and sustainability?
Develop a set of guidelines for a travel ethic that will minimize the negative effects of ecotourism in Belize.
What can be done to protect fragile sites/environments from the negative effects of tourism?
What are some guidelines for watchable wildlife viewing?
With rapid growth in tourism in Belize, what trends can be seen in the types of tourists coming?
Why do you feel the ecotourism industry in Belize is fragmented and disjointed?
Do you believe there should be ecotourism certification in Belize?  Why or why not?

Why are banana plantations so ecologically damaging?
What negative environmental impacts are associated with such agriculture practices as growing coffee?  Pineapples?  Oil palms?
What negative environmental impacts are associated with slash and burn agriculture?
What negative environmental impacts are associated with cattle ranching?
What differences are there in bird species in shade-grown v. sun-grown coffee plantations?
How is coffee grown and processed?
What is fair trade coffee?

Where did we see examples of:
•Empowering women?
•Interpretive guide training?
•Environmental education programs for youth?
•Community-based conservation?