First Private Natural Protected Area in Bahía Santa María

Bahía Santa Maria, located on the north coast of Sinaloa, is considered one of the most important wetlands in Mexico for the extent of its mangroves, its fisheries productivity, and its hemispheric importance as habitat for hundreds of thousands of waterfowl and shorebirds.

Even so, it was not recognized as a protected area, and therefore we started actions to create a site conservation plan, strengthening the capacity of local communities, and implementing restoration and habitat protection activities.

These efforts produced results: We acquired areas of high ecological value and were able to certify them with Conanp as areas of voluntary conservation, converting the Bahia Santa Maria Ecological Reserve into the first Natural Protected Area of the site.