Los Humedales de Montecristi y la Línea Noroeste
- Country:Dominican Republic
- Site number:2497
- Area:84,322.2 ha
- Designation date:13-10-2022
- Coordinates:19°47'N 71°37'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
The Site is composed of several protected areas and associated wetlands such as the Montecristi Underwater National Park, the Buen Hombre wetlands, the Cayos Siete Hermanos Wildlife Refuge, the Estero Balsa mangrove area and the Saladilla Lagoon. It encompasses a range of ecosystems including lagoons, mangroves, marshes, estuaries, swamps, dry shrub forests and coral reefs. In addition, the Site is home to a large proportion of the most representative coral reefs of the Dominican Republic. It hosts a considerable population of threatened marine turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata and Chelonia mydas). Moreover, four important bird species use the site for breeding (Anous stolidus, Onychoprion fuscatus, Thalasseus sandvicensis and Onychoprion anaethetus). The Site supplies the local communities with fresh water and food, and supports flood control, groundwater recharge and climate change mitigation. Both the coral reefs and mangroves in the area support a local fishery that provides a livelihood for many of the local people. The major threats that affect the Site’s ecological character are channelization and river regulation, proliferation of invasive species, the lack of garbage and solid waste management, agricultural and forestry effluents, and droughts.
Administrative region:
Region Noroeste (Provincias; MonteCristi, Dajabon y Puerto Plata)
- National legal designation:
- Categoria II - Parque Nacional El Morro
- Categoria II - Parque Nacional La Hispaniola
- Categoría II A - Parque Nacional Estero Balsa
- Categoría II B - Parque Nacional Submarino Montecristi
- Categoría IV - Refugio de Vida Silvestre Cayos Siete Hermanos
- Categoría IV A - Refugio de Vida Silvestre Laguna Saladilla
- Last publication date:07-11-2022
Downloads
Ramsar Information Sheet (RIS)
Additional reports and documents
- Taxonomic lists of plant and animal species occurring in the site
- A detailed Ecological Character Description (ECD)
- Site management plan
- Other published literature