It all started with Black Howlers!
The Community Baboon Sanctuary, CBS, was the first community conservation project initiated by Community Conservation founder Dr. Rob Horwich. Created in 1985, the CBS links habitat protection for the endangered black howler monkey (locally called baboon) with community land utilization. Local protection of the black howler monkey (Alouatta caraya) and its habitat through encouraging a stewardship ethic in landowners was the main goal of this project. It involves the participation of 7 villages and over 120 landowners. Each landowner has signed a voluntary pledge to abide by a sanctuary generated land management plan.
In addition to the local protection of the howler, the CBS has spread the interest in howler protection country-wide. The CBS donated howlers for a reintroduction into the Cockscomb Basin of Belize and also has contributed howlers for another smaller release in the Cayo District of Belize.
The sanctuary has encouraged a great deal of research on the howlers, the forest, the Central American river turtle, and the bird community. CBS’s strongest success has been its influence on rural communities country-wide. International and national publicity of the CBS has stimulated both directly and indirectly, dozens of community-based conservation and ecotourism programs.
Community Conservation staff continued to advise the CBS project on expansion of tourism to other villages and the creation of a history/forest use museum in St Paul’s Bank village. Read more about our origin story in Belize here: https://communityconservation.org/community-baboon-sanctuary/
