Can Carbon Offsets Save a Fragile Band of Belize’s Tropical Rainforest?

By Nicholas Kusnetz

GALLON JUG, Belize — Deep in a jungle in northern Belize, Elma Kay stood at the base of a rare, ancient mahogany tree, perhaps the only one for miles around. On the trunk above her head were healed gashes where loggers had erected a platform decades ago in an aborted attempt to fell the giant hardwood, prized for its richly hued lumber.