Ría Celestun Biosphere Reserve ( es, Reserva de la Biosfera Ría Celestún) is a

biosphere reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

in Mexico. It is located on the northwestern

Yucatán Peninsula The Yucatán Peninsula (, also , ; es, Península de Yucatán ) is a large peninsula in southeastern Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north ...

in the states of

Yucatán Yucatán (, also , , ; yua, Yúukatan ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Yucatán,; yua, link=no, Xóot' Noj Lu'umil Yúukatan. is one of the 31 states which comprise the federal entities of Mexico. It comprises 106 separate mun ...

and Campeche. The reserve is home to extensive

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in severa ...

wetlands, and rich in birds and other wildlife.

Geography

The reserve covers an area of . It is bounded on the west by the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

. It adjoins Los Petenes Biosphere Reserve to the south, and El Palmar State Reserve to the north. The reserve includes coastal beaches and dunes, which enclose lagoons and wetlands. There are low uplands in the eastern portion of the reserve. The reserve is home to about 7000 people. Celestún, located on the coast within the reserve, is the largest settlement. It a center for visitor-serving activities and eco-tourism. Other economic activities in the reserve include fishing and harvesting sea salt.

Ecology

The reserve protects extensive

wetlands, part of a mangrove corridor known as the Petenes mangroves which extends along the western shore of the Yucatán Peninsula. Freshwater from the peninsula's extensive

aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing, permeable rock, rock fractures, or unconsolidated materials ( gravel, sand, or silt). Groundwater from aquifers can be extracted using a water well. Aquifers vary greatly in their characteris ...

has an outlet in the reserve, mixing with the salt waters of the Gulf of Mexico in the wetlands.Ria Celestún Biosphere Reserve, Mexico

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

Man and the Biosphere Programme Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) is an intergovernmental scientific program, launched in 1971 by UNESCO, that aims to establish a scientific basis for the improvement of relationships between people and their environments. MAB's work engag ...

. Accessed 11 November 2022. There are coastal dunes, and

tropical dry forests The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest is a habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature and is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though these forests occur in climates that are warm year-round, and may receive ...

in the uplands. The reserve is home to large and diverse populations of migratory and resident birds, with over 304 species identified. 56% of species are year-round residents, 43% are seasonal, and 1% are occasional visitors.

American flamingo The American flamingo (''Phoenicopterus ruber'') is a large species of flamingo closely related to the greater flamingo and Chilean flamingo native to the Neotropics. It was formerly considered conspecific with the greater flamingo, but that tre ...

es (''Phoenicopterus ruber'') are a prominent species, with a population that can reach over 23,000 birds. Other bird species present here include the

plumbeous kite The plumbeous kite (''Ictinia plumbea'') is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae that is resident in much of northern South America. It is migratory in the northern part of its range which extends north to Mexico. It feeds on insects which it ...

(''Ictinia plumbea'')

brant goose The brant or brent goose (''Branta bernicla'') is a small goose of the genus '' Branta''. There are three subspecies, all of which winter along temperate-zone sea-coasts and breed on the high-Arctic tundra. The Brent oilfield was named after ...

(''Branta bernicla''),

Muscovy duck The Muscovy duck (''Cairina moschata'') is a large duck native to the Americas, from the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and Mexico south to Argentina and Uruguay. Small wild and feral breeding populations have established themselves in the United St ...

(''Cairina moschata''), piping plover (''Charadrius melodus''),

ocellated turkey The ocellated turkey (''Meleagris ocellata'') is a species of turkey residing primarily in the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico, as well as in parts of Belize and Guatemala. A relative of the North American wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo''), it was ...

(''Agriocharis ocellata''), Yucatan poorwill (''Nyctiphrynus yucatanicus''), Yucatan wren (''Campylorhynchus yucatanicus''),

Yucatan jay The Yucatan jay (''Cyanocorax yucatanicus'') is a species of bird in the family Corvidae, the crows and their allies. It is native to the Yucatán Peninsula where its habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest, plantations and cleared areas ...

(''Cyanocorax yucatanicus''), and

orange oriole The orange oriole (''Icterus auratus'') is a species of bird in the family Icteridae. It is found in the Yucatán Peninsula and far northern Belize. The male has a bright orange hood and a black bib. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropic ...

(''Icterus auratus'').BirdLife International (2022)
Important Bird Areas factsheet: Ría Celestún
Downloaded Accessed 11 November 2022. The reserve, together with the adjacent El Palmar State Reserve, is designated an Important bird area.

Conservation

The area was designated a biosphere reserve in 2000 by the Mexican government. In 2004

designated it a biosphere reserve in the international

, and in the same year it was designated a wetland of international importance under the

Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar site, Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on W ...

. In 2008 the Mexican government nominated the Ría Celestún and adjacent Los Petenes reserves as a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

.Los Petenes-Ría Celestún
UNESCO World Heritage Convention. Accessed 13 November 2022.

References

{{reflist Biosphere reserves of Mexico Ramsar sites in Mexico Protected areas of Campeche Protected areas of Yucatán Wetlands of Mexico Important Bird Areas of Mexico World Heritage Tentative List for Mexico