Mochima National Park is located in the States of Anzoátegui and Sucre, on the northeastern coast of Venezuela. The park is made up of an exclusively marine area in its western sector (Anzoátegui State), a coastal marine area that includes the Gulf of Santa Fé and Mochima Bay, and a mountainous area that covers the Turimiquire Dam watershed (Sucre State). Mochima Park was created to protect the montane forests of the Turimiquire Range and the country's eastern coastal marine landscapes, which are exceptionally beautiful. However, it is one of the most threatened parks in Venezuela. Most of its threats stem from the fact that when the park was created, many human settlements were included in it and The National Parks Institute (INPARQUES) has not known how to manage this situation in the past. Even though educational policies have improved community relations, INPARQUES is still weak in terms of management and administration.
Biodiversity
Mochima offers great habitat diversity, ranging from small coral reefs, mangrove forests, and xerophytic shrubs in the coastal marine zone to wet forests in the Turimiquire Massif, where a large percentage of endemic flora can be found. The park has 78 mammal species and about 28 reptile species, including four species of endangered sea turtles. There is no bird checklist for Mochima, but 150 species have been found near the Turimiquire Dam in the south of the park, an area of high bird endemism.
Threats
A large number of problems threaten Mochima National Park, the most important of which are: confrontation with communities, town growth, wildlife commerce, non-metallic mineral extraction, domestic animal presence, lack of awareness of the State about the marine area, and highway construction inside the park. For these reasons the park has been classified as critically threatened.
