Conservation plan for the wetlands Ecoregion "Los Petenes - Celestun - El Palmar"

The present need to conserve the natural resources that we depend on, has given the impulse to carry out different types of exercises, with which we can define the priorities of biodiversity conservation.

Among these exercises there is an emphasis on those activities that are based on existing indicators as the biological and ecological wealth in a defined region. This is the case with The Ecoregional Planning approach, which defines an ecoregion as a relatively large area containing diverse natural communities that share similar environmental dynamics and conditions and function together as a conservation unit.

From this idea of an ecoregion, six research institutions and several NGO´s of Yucatan have developed a Conservation Plan for the wetlands Ecoregion of "Los Petenes-Celestún-El Palmar". These three adjoining protected natural areas share similar characteristics like climate, soils and vegetation types along the north-western coast of the Yucatan Peninsula in the states of Campeche and Yucatan.

This ecoregion has now been recognised by diverse organisations, e.g. like by the WWF, which locates the ecoregion within its index as Ecoregion 50 "Mangroves of the Petenes". Also CONABIO (Mexican National Commission for Biodiversity) classified it as a Marine Priority Area entitled "Champoton-El Palmar". Furthermore the area is considered as a priority zone of the "Ring of Cenotes" and classified as "Important Bird Conservation Area" (AICA).

Objectives

Characterize this ecoregion in its natural, physical and social components, identify sites and objects that require priority in conservation, elaborate a diagnosis that allows the identification of impact sources, as well as feasible strategies to address and minimize the identified impacts. All this, based on the best scientific information available and specifically generated as part of the plan, is also about attending to the needs of the local communities and searching mechanisms of implementing strategies at a municipal, state and federal level.

Expectations

The ongoing development of this project will allow us to rely on a document which includes a description and diagnosis of the region, conservation objectives and identified and prioritized conservation strategies including the implementation costs. It is hoped that the result will be the point of reference for developing projects, implementing strategies and channelling resources to this very important ecoregion of the coastal wetlands of the Yucatan Peninsula.

Results

Strategic alliances with investigation centres, universities and NGOs of Yucatan and Campeche. Formation of an integrated and regional vision where information is shared to optimize resources and strengths.
Thematic Cartography of the ecoregion and documentation of the ecoregion´s vegetation, fauna, hydrology and social area.
A document of viable strategies, taking into account the necessary actions, subjects, institutions, costs and sources of finance to present to the decision makers.
The principal impacts that affect the objectives of conservation were determined, at the priority sites and the ecological systems identified during the development of the project. This allowed the proposing of conservation strategies and actions with consensus among the participating researchers. A matrix was produced that incorporates those different factors and permits evaluation of impacts and feasibility of proposed mitigation actions.