Sistema de Humedales de la Isla de Utila

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Sistema de Humedales de la Isla de Utila

  • Country: 
    Honduras
  • Site number: 
    2134
  • Area: 
    16,226 ha
  • Designation date: 
    02-02-2013
  • Coordinates: 
    16°06'N 86°51'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

Sistema de Humedales de la Isla de Utila. 02/02/2013; Islas de la Bahía; 16,226 ha; 16o06’00”N 15o56’14”W. Bahia Islands Marine Park, which includes two Marine Special Protection Zones and one Wildlife Refuge. The importance of these wetlands is based on its diverse and interdependent ecosystems, which are part of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System. These ecosystems include coral reefs, marine grasses, mangroves, swamps, coastal lakes, rocky shores, hypersaline shallow waters, floodplains and above and below ground karstic systems among others. These ecosystems support numerous fauna and flora species including some endangered species such as the following sea turtles: Caretta caretta, Chelonia mydas (green sea turtle) and Eretmochelys imbricate. Endangered species of birds, fish and shellfish are also found at this Ramsar Site. Furthermore this site has the largest habitat and species diversity of the Norwest Caribbean region of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System and is home to numerous terrestrial and marine endemic species. This wetlands system also plays a vital role in supporting various species particularly during their first life stages. Utila Island is also a tourism hotspot, which is also a valuable and mostly unexplored, archaeological site having been home to Chibcha and Mesoamerican tribes. Ramsar Site No. 2134.

Administrative region: 
Islas de la Bahía

  • National legal designation: 
    • Parque Marino - Las Islas de la Bahía
    • Refugio de Vida Silvestre - Turtle Harbour
    • Zonas de protección especial marina - ZPEM Turtle Harbour y Rock Harbour
  • Last publication date: 
    02-02-2013

Downloads

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