Complejo Güija

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Complejo Güija

  • Country: 
    El Salvador
  • Site number: 
    1924
  • Area: 
    10,180 ha
  • Designation date: 
    16-12-2010
  • Coordinates: 
    14°16'N 89°28'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 Güija. 16/12/10; Santa Ana; 10,180 ha; 14°17'N 089°29'W. This Ramsar Site includes the Protected Natural Area San Diego y San Felipe Las Barras, a lagoon complex and its surrounding flooded areas. A part of the Güija complex is also representative of the Central America Dry Tropical Forest ecosystem, which is considered threatened by World Wildlife Fund (WWF). This ecosystem sustains IUCN Red List endangered species like the thorny iguana (Ctenosaura flavidorsalis) and species listed in appendices I and II of CITES as Amazonia albifrons, Puma yagoaroundi and A. auropalliata. The Site also records 59,000 water birds including migratory species such as Anas discors, Anas clypeata and Dendrocygna bicolor, and a high fish diversity that includes 14 native species from El Salvador. These natural resources support fishing at both commercial and subsistence levels as well as other main productive activities such as agriculture and tourism. Invasive species like water hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes) in some lagoons, the expansion of agricultural land, intentional burning, and water pollution due to the lack of sanitation system in the surrounding communities constitute the main threats for the Güija Complex. A management plan for fisheries resources in the lagoon complex and a management plan for the protected natural area are currently being implemented for conservation actions within this Ramsar Site. Ramsar Site No. 1924. Most recent information: 2010.

Administrative region: 
Santa Ana

  • National legal designation: 
    • Área Natural Protegida - San Diego y San Felipe Las Barras
  • Last publication date: 
    16-12-2010

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