Geography & Physical Environment

The BIB project site is comprised of 131acres of private land that lies near the Guatemalan border in the western Cayo District of Belize approximately 10.5 miles southeast of Benque Viejo del Carmen on the Arenal Road. The property is comprised of three blocks of land situated between the Arenal Road and the upper section of the Macal River. The BIB property’s Macal River frontage lies downriver from the Mollejon Dam and upriver from the Vaca Dam site. The western boundary of the property is situated along the Arenal Road while the eastern boundary of the property is situated along the upper Macal River. The entrance to the site from the Arenal Road is approximately 10.5 miles from Benque Viejo, Cayo and approximately 3 miles from the Mollejon Dam site.

The BIB property is situated between the Vaca Plateau Forest Reserve to the South and the Pine Ridge Forest Reserve to the East. The land on both North and West sides of the property is privately owned, surveyed and has historically been used for Logging and Agriculture. The BIB property is located within an agricultural and former logging zone. Within the BIB property, there are several extensive agricultural areas currently under cultivation. The three existing agricultural areas within BIB property range from 20-50 acres, comprising a significant percentage of the property. Most of the remaining land is too steep for agriculture and other forms of development. Well developed and extensive access roads into and within the property exist and connect the Arenal Road to the upper bank of the Macal River. Several existing logging roads and other well developed trails run through the property. Evidence of semi-permanent camps exist throughout the property around the agricultural areas.

The topography of the BIB property is typical of the Upper Macal River, with steep hills and escarpments in some areas and rolling hills elsewhere. The BIB property can be characterized as gentle hills descending as a series 3 major ridges with steep gradients sloping toward the Macal River Valley. Each of the sequential slopes level into flat areas (used for agriculture) before rising into a subsequent series of hills and ridges. The final decent of approximately 200 ft. to the Macal River is very steep, in excess of 45 degrees. Elevation variation of the BIB property ranges from 1200 ft. above mean sea level (msl) to 490 ft. above msl. The BIB property contains several dry creeks and watersheds, often in steep areas of the property. As seen in figure 5 on the previous page, interior access roads were cut through steep terrain and traverse the hillside in a switchback fashion.