About: Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area

The Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area is a nature reserve located in northwestern Belize. Rio Bravo, as it is known, was established by Programme for Belize in 1988 with the purchase of 110,044 acres (44,533.2 hectares) of land from Gallon Jug Agroindustries. With logging encroachment imminent in 1989, the Nature Conservancy joined Programme for Belize to protect the land. Additional land donations from Coca-Cola Foods, Inc. (42,007 acres in 1990 and 52,015 acres (210.50 km2) in 1992) and purchases from New River Enterprises Ltd. (14,011 acres and 12,798 acres (51.79 km2) both in 1994) enlarged the protected area to 230,875 acres (934.32 km2). Rio Bravo is the largest terrestrial conservation area in Belize, comprising 4% of the country's total land area.