Complejo Jaltepeque
- Country:El Salvador
- Site number:1935
- Area:49,474 ha
- Designation date:02-02-2011
- Coordinates:13°24'N 88°56'W
Materials presented on this website, particularly maps and territorial information, are as-is and as-available based on available data and do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
Overview
Complejo Jaltepeque is the second biggest brackish water area and intertidal forested wetland in El Salvador. The Site includes a variety of marine and coastal ecosystems such as mangrove forests, sandy beaches, freshwater lagoons, and stationary and permanent rivers. The different ecosystems support a rich diversity of species including 272 plants including the globally threatened mangrove Avicennia bicolor, Spanish cedar (Cedrela odorata) and big-leaf mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla). The mangrove forest is an essential habitat for the 284 species found in the area, including the yellow-naped amazon (Amazona auropalliata), the red knot (Calidris canutus), and the great black hawk (Buteogallus urubitinga) among others. Also found on the Site are 96 species of fish, 44 land mammals, at least eight amphibians, and 26 reptiles including vulnerable species listed on the IUCN Red List such as the scalloped hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini), the whitenose shark (Nasolamia velox), the olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) and the leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea). The Site is a source of artisanal fishing and tourism livelihoods for the surrounding communities. The main threats include deforestation for agriculture and livestock, illegal hunting, and pollution of the waters caused by domestic, agricultural and industrial discharges.
Administrative region:
Región Paracentral de El Salvador
- National legal designation:
- Área Natural Protegida - El Astillero
- Área Natural Protegida propuesta a incorporar en esta nueva actualización de la ficha ramsar del Complejo Jaltepeque - Laguna de Nahualapa
- Área de Conservación - Jaltepeque-Bajo Lempa
- Last publication date:22-10-2021
Downloads
Ramsar Information Sheet (RIS)
Archived RIS
Site map
Additional reports and documents
- Taxonomic lists of plant and animal species occurring in the site
- A description of the site in a national or regional wetland inventory
- Site management plan
- Other published literature