The dark-gray shaded area shows where Laguna Madre and Delta del Rio Bravo are located along the Mexican Gulf coast. (From: Diario Oficial de la Federación [Official Federal Register] decree published April 14, 2005.)
The National Commission on Natural Protected Areas (known by its Spanish acronym CONANP) announced on April 14 that a new Flora and Fauna Protected Area called Laguna Madre and Delta del Rio Bravo was created. Located in Tamaulipas State, north of the Gulf of Mexico, this area covers 572,808 ha. The protected area\’s lake system, which is part of the political boundary between the US and Mexico, is considered unique because it forms the most extensive hypersaline ecosystem in the world. Its location between the two biogeographic regions, the Neoartic and the Neotropic, confers a very rich and diversified biology to the area.
Because this area has a strong fishing industry –15% of the nation\’s shrimp (Penaeus spp.), 13% of the crabs known as \”jaibas\” (Callinectes spp.), and 40% of the striped mullet (Mugil cephalus) locally known as \”lisa,\” are caught in this region — it is of great economic importance. The lagoon is also a very important ecosystem for migratory aquatic birds in the area, offering them refuge, feeding sites, and a place to reproduce and rear their young. More than 450 bird species from Canada and the US migrate to this protected area.
In Laguna Madre, there are some charismatic species and others considered threatened in different categories according to Mexican law, including the jaguar (Panthera onca), ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), margay (Leopardus wiedii), lynx (Lynx pardinus), unstriped ground squirrel (Spermophilus spp.), Amazon river dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), and yellow-headed parrot (Amazona oratrix).
Some of the greatest challenges this new protected area will face will stem from the fishing industry\’s strong presence, as well as from tourism, and threats such as pollution and the increasing destruction and transformation of the Mexican wetlands.
Source: CONANP 2005
Gerardo Carreón A.
ParksWatch-Mexico: May 2005