Jaguar Conservation in Belize

Working with our suppliers to encourage them to adopt sustainable agriculture practices, including protecting and increasing biodiversity, is key to sustainable farming and to helping us achieve net zero.

In Belize, where we source raw sugar from for our Thames Refinery, biodiversity conservation is a key focus area and our supplier Belize Sugar Industries (BSI) launched their Northern Sugar Industry Biodiversity Commitment in April 2024.

The commitment is multipronged and includes the conservation of 3,100 acres of riparian wetland, the creation of training manuals for cane farmers on the best ways to respect biodiversity while prioritising sustainable agriculture practices, and educational programmes for farmers and their children including training and field trips, which emphasise biodiversity protection and promote human, animal and planetary health.

In November 2024, in collaboration with The Belize Zoo & Tropical Education Centre, BSI organised the first Jaguar Conservation workshop for its agriculture, cane farmer relations, operations and security personnel. Belize has a healthy jaguar population and is one of the only countries in the world where jaguars can roam freely through natural corridors of connected protected areas of forest. As agriculture expands towards these protected corridors, conflict between farmers and jaguars becomes a precarious problem.

BSI’s programme aims to teach awareness of the importance of preserving jaguars and practical advice about what to do if you spot one. Mac McLachlan, VP, Country Manager, Belize

Attendees of the workshop learned about jaguar biology, its natural history, cultural perceptions, threats, human-jaguar conflict and interventions, and long-term solutions to their conservation. It concluded with a jaguar tour at The Belize Zoo, where participants were able to meet the resident jaguars, rescued because they cannot survive in the wild due to old age or illness. This included Ben, a resilient jaguar who once dominated the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary and is now a resident of The Belize Zoo and has been adopted by BSI.

The Jaguar Conservation workshop is the first in a series of training sessions to ensure adequate know-how and appropriate response during wildlife sightings within the facilities of BSI, helping to ensure the safety of the workforce while promoting and ensuring biodiversity conservation.