Coral reefs and their supporting habitats are at risk worldwide due to global climate change and the overall exploitation of the ocean’s resources. Our preservation and development project offers an opportunity to build an economically successful business while protecting a critical ecological asset. With this approach, we hope to build a model of symbiosis between sustainable preservation and sustainable development endeavors for other important natural areas around the planet. Our work is located in an area already identified as a global ecological preservation hotspot, specifically along the Mesoamerican Reef on Long Caye at Lighthouse Reef, Belize.

Long Caye and the Lighthouse Reef Atoll, are 45 miles east-southeast of Belize City, Belize. One of only four atolls in the Western hemisphere, the Lighthouse Reef Atoll is 27 miles in length and about eight miles wide. It is the furthest atoll from the mainland and one of the largest, most outstanding examples of an atoll coral reef ecosystem in the world.

Due to its significant size and remote location, Long Caye is unique in the open waters of the western Caribbean. As the dominant landmass within Lighthouse Reef, Long Caye's lagoons and mangroves plant communities provide critical habitat for an abundance of tropical wildlife, such as breeding fish, birds, sea turtles, American Saltwater crocodiles and iguanas. For migratory birds, Long Caye serves as an essential rest stop during the long flights north and south. As more and more habitats are destroyed or lost due to unchecked development along migration routes, landmasses like Long Caye play an increasingly important role in seasonal migration.

Surrounded by vibrant walls of coral with an associated marine ecosystem that extends for miles, this magnificent island paradise is within a few minutes boat ride to Half Moon Caye bird sanctuary, the Great Blue Hole and some of the world's most pristine coral reefs and dive sites, including the Aquarium, Half Moon Wall and Cathedral.

As the family who has owned and managed Long Caye since 1968, we possess a deep appreciation of nature and an interest in maintaining this important eco-system. Our stewardship sees ongoing human activity, buildings, transportation and development itself through the lens of long-term preservation and sustainability. Broad Eco-Guidelines are in place to provide policies and procedures that ensure minimal impact on natural habitats. They allow for responsible and sustainable decisions on the Caye, which support the health of the diverse flora and fauna and natural processes.

Our vision is a community designed to ensure and promote perpetual respect for the local and surrounding environment. We seek to prove it is possible to preserve, protect AND enjoy these environmental assets in a fashion that truly promotes the continued well-being of these resources for the greater good. While human visitation to such places is inevitable and growing, the development philosophy of Long Caye will demonstrate the ability manage that process sustainably and profitably.

It is our belief that any eco-development on Long Caye at Lighthouse Reef Atoll or elsewhere would be a failure if the developer did not participate and promote the preservation of its own environment. Along with the planned for-profit development activity on the Caye, establishing a permanent preserve remains a top priority for the family. Indeed, we believe there is considerable economic benefit to attain from the preservation of Long Caye.

We have found extraordinary alignment and opportunity not only to preserve our Caye, but also to expand that vision to include preservation of the entire atoll. The family has reached out to other stakeholders in the atoll, namely the owners of Northern and Sandbore Cayes, the Belize Audubon society and the research team from Boston University (recipients of funds from the Charles and Betty Moore Foundation) about the potential to create an atoll-wide preserve.

Long Caye is the first step to building a unique, extraordinary conservation and development project that could presage the future of monetizing the sustainable (economically and environmentally) symbiotic relationship between maintaining the ecological character of natural assets while allowing human access and enjoyment.