Land Cover Changes on Ambergris Caye, Belize: A Case Study of Unregulated Tourism Development

Between 2000 and 2017, Ambergris Caye, Belize—a key tourist destination within the UNESCO-listed Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System—experienced a significant 10.85% decline in vegetation cover, alongside a 39% increase in urban and barren land, driven by rapid, unregulated development. Using Landsat satellite imagery and unsupervised classification methods, researchers quantified these changes, revealing an annual forest loss rate of 0.67%. This baseline study highlights the environmental impacts of tourism-driven growth on tropical ecosystems, offering critical data for conservation and sustainable planning efforts in the region.

Sweetman, B. M., Cissell, J. R., Rhine, S., & Steinberg, M. K. (2018). Land Cover Changes on Ambergris Caye, Belize: A Case Study of Unregulated Tourism Development. The Professional Geographer, 71(1), 123–134. https://doi.org/10.1080/00330124.2018.1501710