The purpose of WWF's proposed project "promoting human-jaguar coexistence in the maya forest of mexico" is to help secured the future of the jaguar in mexico's maya forest in the yucatan peninsula,…

The purpose of WWF's proposed project "promoting human-jaguar coexistence in the maya forest of mexico" is to help secured the future of the jaguar in mexico's maya forest in the yucatan peninsula, one of the most important jaguar strongholds in the americas. The jaguar is seriously threatened; IT has lost half its range and its population is declining. In response, WWF has developed a jaguar strategy identifying the sites that collectively can secure the future of this iconic predator. The species is under threat due to loss and degradation of habitat and intentional killings. Jaguars are killed for a number of reasons; for trade of their parts, in retaliation for depredations of livestock and because people are afraid of them. In mexico's maya forest, there are many small-scale agricultural producers who raise sheep and to a lesser degree, cattle. Livestock grazing in jaguar corridors connecting protected areas are vulnerable to predation by jaguars. The livestock owners sometimes respond by killing jaguars. This project will identify producers most affected by jaguar predation and help them protect their livestock. We will do this by enclosing the livestock pastures with fences, installing systems of lights to ward off predators, and providing water sources for jaguars and their prey, separate from the water sources for livestock. Another issue that is leading jaguars to prey on livestock is a paucity of prey, which is tied to increasing drought conditions. The populations of prey species are declining because their water sources dry up during what have become longer drought periods, as does the vegetation on which they subsist. The project will create water sources and plant high-protein stands of native vegetation for the prey species to help them survive times of drought. These measures will provide economic benefits to landowners in the form of reduced loss of livestock. We will also help landowners increase the productivity of their livestock operations through the adoption of targeted practices. For example, we will help them plant stands of high-protein native crops within their enclosed pastures. Our experience with other farms in the region shows that these measures can significantly increase the productivity of livestock operations. As landowners hear from each other about the benefits of these practices, we expect that they will increasingly adopt them. As a result, jaguar depredations will decline, as will retaliatory killings. An additional benefit for jaguars is that the intensification of ranching within livestock enclosures will reduce the need to expand livestock grazing by converting forests into pasture lands, thus leaving more jaguar habitat intact. The beneficiaries of the project will be the small-scale livestock producers. We will work with 15 of them directly in this project. Subrecipients of the project will include two organizations. The first is fund for peace (english translation), which has been working in the maya forest for more than a decade with local communities. They will help livestock producers adopt practices to increase productivity and reduce predations by jaguars. The second is natural areas and sustainable development (english translation), which focuses on recovery and management of at-risk species in mexico. IT will work with landowners on management of wildlife to ensure a stable level of jaguar prey, capacity building with local producers in specialized management and will implement 12 demonstrative plots. The deliverables of the project include the following: on the properties of participating small-scale agricultural producers, the number of livestock killed by jaguars will be reduced by 80% and livestock productivity will be increased by 15%. There will be no decline in populations of jaguars or their prey in the adjacent forest lands, and the tolerance of participating landowners of jaguars will increase.