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CEDO (Intercultural Center for the Study of Deserts and Oceans) is proud to announce the declaration of Bahía San Jorge's wetlands as Wetlands of
International Importance
February
4, 2010
By:
Hem Nalini Morzaria Luna
* To view this press release as a Word Document click here.
As part of the celebration of World Wetlands Day on February 2nd,
the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), Juan Rafael
Elvira Quesada, announced the addition of the wetlands at Bahía San Jorge as
one of seven new sites in the List of Wetlands of International Importance of
the Ramsar Convention in 2010.
 
During the memorial ceremony on the island of San Pedro, in Yuriria,
Guanajuato, the Secretary said that with this designation Mexico is now second
in the world, behind only the United Kingdom, in the number of Ramsar sites it
currently has. One hundred and thirty one sites exist and cover a total surface
of eight million, 915 thousand, 433.7 hectares. The Convention on Wetlands,
signed in Ramsar, Iran in 1971, is an intergovernmental treaty, which provides
the framework for national action and international cooperation on the
conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. Mexico joined the
Convention on November 4, 1986.
The wetlands of Bahía San Jorge extend over more than 35 linear kilometers of
coastline, from the northern tip of Estero Almejas to
the southern tip of Estero San Francisquito. This Ramsar site brings together a
combination of habitats, marshes, low intertidal mud, salt marshes, coastal
dunes, sandy beaches, permanent shallow marine waters and wetland-terrestrial
interface, connecting the earth system with one of the most productive marine
systems world, the Gulf of California, and are in turn connected to the Sonoran
Desert.
 
Currently, this area is of great importance for fisheries and aquaculture
production, and for species, such as rays, guitarfish, shark, octopus, shrimp, and crab. Like other
estuaries in the region, Bahía San Jorge's wetlands serve as nesting, resting
and feeding grounds for migratory and resident birds that are part of the
Pacific Flyway, including species like the least tern, the American
oystercatcher and savanna sparrow. The canals and marshes of the site serve as
refuge and feeding areas for the larval and juvenile stages of fish and
invertebrates, and as well as for feeding grounds for marine species. Bahía San
Jorge also hosts a resident population of the bottlenose dolphin, an endangered
species. There are also endemic species not found anywhere else in the world
there, like the fisherman myotis bat.
The declaration of the Bahía San Jorge's wetlands as Wetlands of International
Importance increases support for conservation and sustainable use, which helps
protect its ecological integrity, and continues to maintain important ecological
functions and environmental services.
For
more information contact Biol. Andrea Cuellar (Coastal Conservation Coordinator
at CEDO) at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
or call 638-382-0113 in Puerto Peñasco, Sonora.
Intercultural Center for the Study of Deserts and Oceans – CEDO,
Inc.
P.O. Box 44208
Tucson, AZ 85733
Telephone/Fax: 520-320-5473
Centro Intercultural de Estudios de Desiertos y Océanos – CEDO,
A.C.
Apartado Postal #53
Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, México C.P.
83550
Teléfono y FAX: 06-382-0113, 0115
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Website: www.cedointercultural.org
NaturArte Website: www.cedonaturarte.org
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