Bacalar Chico NP/MR is a protected area, and designated a World heritage Site in 1996. It is located 45 minutes north of San Pedro Town on Ambergris Caye, Belize Central America.
It encompasses intra island lagoons, mud flats, sink holes, mangrove forests, semi-deciduous forest, savannahs and is home to some very captivating mammals. These include white tail deer, ocelots, margay, jaguars and pumas. The wetlands and lagoons host both resident and migrant water birds such as the Reddish Eggret, Boat-billed heron, Roseate Spoonbill and Wood Stork. There are aslo endangered or threatened wildlife such as the American saltwater crocodile and three of the marine sea turtles (Loggerhead Turtle, Halksbilled Turtle and the Green Sea Turtle), which nests within the reserve boundaries.
There are also remnants of the Mayans who used the area to fascilitate their sea trade. There is the narrow, man-made channel that was dug by the Maya 1500 years ago, which now forms a natural border between Belize and Mexico, and there are also the eight Mayan sites that are located within the protected area. Two of the sites Chac-Balam and the San Juan have been excavated and will be made accessible to tourist with a year.
Bacalar Chico NP/MR is part of Belize's system of marine protected ares, which is used to manage Belize's coastal and marine resources. This system involves protecting ecosystems rather than specific species. It encompasses all the ependent related ecosystems such as the mangroves, seagrass beds and the reefs. The marine reserves themselves are based on a multipurpose zoning scheme which allows for regulated extraction of the of its marine resources in some areas as well as non extraction in other areas. With these concepts Bacalar Chico NP/MR aims to protect areas for endangered or threatened species to recouperate; conserve the resources that are being exported from the reserve and to stimulate economy of the neighboring communities of Sarteneja, San Pedro and Corozal through increased tourisim within the area.