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Shipstern Conservation and Management Area (Shipstern C&MA) is a protected area located in the Corozal District of northeastern Belize. Shipstern C&MA protects approximately 21.500 acres (ca. 8.700 hectares or 87 km2) of a variety of habitats centered on Shipstern Lagoon, one of the larger inland lagoon systems in Belize.〔(''Corozal Sustainable Future Initiative'' ). ''CSFI'', Retrieved 2015-11-02.〕 The reserve includes non-contiguous parcels, a larger one covering part of the lagoon itselfs, and a smaller one protected a small forest lake by the name of Xo-Pol. Habitats include various types of seasonal forests, some of which are unique for Belize. Next to the medium-sized semi-deciduous Yucatan forest, a much rarer type of dry coastal tropical forest also occurs, in Belize found only in Shipstern and in Bacalar Chico National Park, on Ambergris Caye.〔 The government of Belize considers Shipstern Conservation & Management Area to be one of the ten most important nature reserves in Belize.〔(''Protected Areas of Belize'' ). Protected Areas, Gap Analysis. Retrieved 2015-11-20.〕 Shipstern C&MA is owned and managed by the Corozal Sustainable Future Initiative (CSFI) a Belizean registered NGO financed in larger part by a consortium of European zoos, through a charity, the International Tropical Conservation Fund (ITCFund). == History == The Shipstern Conservation & Management Area, formerly known as Shipstern Nature Reserve, was officially opened by the Minister of Natural Resources in September 1990. Long recognized as being of the more important private protected areas due its geographic position and its biodiversity, it has appeared on official maps ever since its inception. In 2012, the Corozal Sustainable Future Initiative entered the reserve into a trust in perpetuity, whereby on the one hand the owner CSFI commits to manage the reserve as an IUCN Category II national park, and the Government of Belize, on the other hand, has included Shipstern C&MA in the National Protected Area System of Belize. The name ''Shipstern'' reportedly derives from a village within Shipstern forest that was abandoned after the devastating passage of Hurricane Janet in 1955.〔(''Sarteneja'' ). Homepage of the districts Corozal and Orange Walk. Retrieved 2015-10-15.〕 It may have designated a point in the Lagoon where logging boats could go no further ("ship's turn"), but other origins for the name have been locally known. The name Shipstern today has been given to the lagoon, the forest where the village used to be, as well as to the unexcavated Mayan ceremonial centre just South of Shipstern C&MA. In 1986, the parcel of land which was to become Shipstern was purchased by English businessman and butterfly enthusiast Clive Farrell. He created (at what today still is the headquarters of the protected area) a butterfly production centre designed to supply various butterfly exhibits in the United Kingdom. In 1989, unable to sustain further the costs of maintaining and protecting such a large area, he sold the land to the freshly created International Tropical Conservation Fund.〔(''ITCF'' ). ''International Tropical Conservation Fund''. Retrieved 2015-11-02.〕 Although butterfly production was continued for a few years, the strong dry season made the operation economically unviable. The original breeding area is now an exhibit which still produces some butterflies for tourism purposes.〔(''Visit Shipstern'' ). Official Website ''Shipstern Conservation & Management'' Area. Retrieved 2015-11-02.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Shipstern Conservation & Management Area」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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