Review a book exploring attitudes to the natural environment and/or concepts of wilderness and wildlife.

Ecotourism has become evermore popular since the late 1980s, with it being arguably the fastest growing of all sub-sectors in the tourism industry (Cater, 1993). As ecotourism grew, the number of books about this particular branch of tourism also increased. Whiteman (1996) found that “when properly managed, ecotourism offers excellent wilderness experiences while contributing to the preservation of natural and historic places”. Wilderness, at the simplest level, can be defined as a natural environment that has not been modified by human activity.
‘Belize and Northern Guatemala’ by Lee Beletsky (Beletsky, 1998), endorsed by the Wildlife Conservation Society, illustrates the common wildlife of Belize and Guatemala and provides information on their identification, location, conservation and ecology. Large areas of these countries can be classed as “wilderness” areas. 47.5% of Belize is classed as a protected area, with 15.5% being conserved purely for being a wilderness area. Likewise, 25.3% of Guatemala is classed as a protected area, with 8.48% of the country being conserved as a wilderness area (World Resources Institute, 2007).
The author, Les Beletsky, wrote the book and others in the series due to his frustration that he “could not locate a single book to take along on a trip that would help me identify all the types of animals that really interested me”. He had also noted that for each trip, he had to take numerous different guidebooks as there was no one definitive guide (Beletsky, 1998, page x). As a professional wildlife biologist and university zoology teacher, Beletsky is probably one of the best qualified to produce a valuable and scientifically correct guide. During his academic career, Beletsky authored and co-authored over 40 scientific reports and two books about birds (Beletsky, 1996; Beletsky and Orians, 1996) and this is scientific background is evident whilst reading the book. The language is simple but detailed, and is written with the authority and attention to detail that only a professional biologist can produce.
The book is split into nine different chapters and some further sections, covering the five main animal classes (amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals and fish), as well as an introduction to ecotourism and environmental threats and conservation. There is also a helpful chapter about how to use the book, covering the background of ecology and natural history.
Chapter one covers the concept of ecotourism and why it’s important. This leads the reader into the general style of the book and is perhaps a presumption that the type of people who purchase this book will have an interest in ecotourism, and the benefits of it. Nevertheless, it is a valuable chapter for anyone to read, covering what ecotourism is and the history of it, why it’s important, and how ecotourism can help with conservation.
Chapter two briefly mentions ecotourism again, but specifically in Belize and Guatemala. However, most of the chapter discusses the geography, habitats and the parks and reserves of these two countries. Each section within this chapter is split into Belize and Guatemala, with maps accompanying the text to further inform the reader. The habitats part of this chapter is particularly good, with the major habitats of each country being listed and described. Pages 21 to 28 cover the common vegetation that can be found, with clear line drawings depicting the leaves and seeds of these species. The author mentions the major regions of the two countries, listing the habitat, and any species that are found there. Secondary authors contribute to this chapter, and this is understandable due to Beletsky being a zoologist, and not a botanist or ecologist. The text flows well however, with the contributing authors all writing in the same general style. It is barely noticeable that different people have contributed, and this helps with the continuity and the overall quality of the book.
The third chapter discusses the major environmental problems that are threatening Belize and Guatemala, and also includes a section on the conservation programs that have been or are being undertaken. This chapter is fairly short compared to the others, and would benefit from being extended, encompassing more environmental threats to different areas. However, the chapter does list the contact information of numerous conservation organisations that are based in the two countries. Presumably, the author felt that if any reader had a deep interest in environmental issues, they could find further information from outside sources.
Chapter four discusses how to use the book and is possibly the most useful. The chapter covers the important topics of “what is natural history?” and “what is ecology?” This is impressive, as very few wildlife based books ever touch on these subjects, with even fewer explaining the concepts behind ecological interactions. Key ecological words are well explained and easy to understand. Notable features of this chapter include the explanation of the classification system of all species, the feeding categories of animals (frugivore, piscivore, etc) and an explanation of how to use the identification plates. The ecological vocabulary in this chapter is advanced, but much of it is necessary to understand further parts of the book, and anyone with an interest in wildlife will be grateful for the background foundations of ecology.
Chapter’s five to nine cover the different families of animals. Within these chapters, Beletsky focuses on animals that travellers are most likely to see. This also allows the book to be presented in one compact volume, which is very useful for long distance travellers. Nevertheless, the information provided is clear, concise and very factual. For each animal class, the book lists the main families of that class found in Belize and Northern Guatemala, as well as explaining the natural history, ecology and behaviour, breeding, ecological interactions, lore and notes, status and the profiles of each class. It also provides up-to-date information about the ecology and general behaviour of each animal. These sections are accompanied by many coloured plates illustrating “480 animal species” (http1) as well as colour photographs of the different habitats that are mentioned in the main text. The species plates have been beautifully drawn, and show examples of male, female and immature individuals of species. They are extremely well presented, and the descriptive that associates with each plate is particularly well thought out. Each species has its common English name, Latin name and Spanish name listed, along with a translation. This is then followed by the identification of the species and its habitat. A simple habitat key is also provided for each species, as well as abbreviations for the “political areas” of Belize where each species is found (Beletsky, 1998, page 61-62). Secondary authors contribute to the chapter on marine life, as Beletsky’s specialist subject is terrestrial, rather than marine wildlife. Just like chapter two, this is written very well and doesn’t affect the continuity of the book. In some aspects, it actually improves the quality of the book. There is often a danger of wildlife book authors trying to write every chapter, but not really knowing much about certain aspects of topics. This can produce poorly written text and often cause reader confusion later on.
The rest of the book is split into sections covering identification plates, habitat photographs, references and a final section covering the work that the WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) does in Latin America. This is an important as background information for people who may be somewhat misguided about the amount and the variety of work that conservation bodies do. It also provides a membership form for the WCS, so presumably, the society attracts more members through the sale of the book.
A particularly useful part of the book is that the index is split into two parts: a species and a general index. This is very rare to see outside of science textbooks, or specialist identification books. This makes referencing anything in the book much easier and saves time: something which becomes very important when trying to determine the wildlife one is viewing when out on a tour.
The only major problem with the book is surprisingly, the fact that ecologically sound travel tips (such as general rules and ecologically friendly holiday providers) are omitted. It is questionable as to why this has been missed out, as learning how to travel responsibly is as important as knowing what one can see whilst travelling. There could be an extra chapter covering the eco-friendly tour operators and hotels of the two countries, as the type of people who purchase this book would be more likely to be interested in this branch of business. It would be an excellent addition to chapter two. Nevertheless, this book is an invaluable resource for anyone who is looking to learn about the wildlife of Belize and Guatemala, from scientists to the general public. Its relatively compact size, the wide variety of topics it explores and the user-friendly language makes it a valuable resource for anyone that is travelling through these countries.