BirdLife IBA Factsheet

Country/Territory

Guatemala

Administrative region(s)

Petén

Central coordinates

17^o 15' North 90^o 18' West Map

Area

2095087 ha

Altitude

50 - 650m

Criteria

A1, A3, A4i

Site description The extension of the IBA Maya-Lacandon is almost identical to the Maya Biosphere Reserve, which covers the northern part of the province Peten, equaling 19% of the country. This area forms together with forests in Belize and the Mexican states of Campeche and Quintana Roo the largest Neotropical forest north of the Amazon basin. It is an important continental stronghold for species requiring large forested areas.

Birds More than 400 bird species have been recorded in the northern Peten (Beavers 1992). The site is important for 25 species restricted to the Gulf Caribbean Slope. One of the country's largest wetlands-Laguna del Tigre National Park and surroundings-is located in the northwestern part of the IBA. Based on a continental population estimate (Wetlands International 2006) and local estimates (Eisermann 2006), it is assumed that the site holds important parts of regional populations of Bare-throated Tiger-Heron (Tigrisoma mexicanum), Least Grebe (Tachybaptus dominicus), and Wood Stork (Mycteria americana).

Protection status The IBA is entirely legally protected, with exception of Lake Peten Itza (CONAP 2007). The site contains several National Parks and Protected Biotopes, in addition to an expansive Multiple Use Zone. Two National Parks, Laguna del Tigre and Yaxhá-Nakum-Naranjo, have been designated as important wetlands under the Ramsar convention. The area is severely threatened by management deficiencies.

Conservation issues The Maya Biosphere Reserve lacks adequate management, leading in some parts to considerable habitat loss by forest fires, illegal logging, unsustainable use of non-timber forest resources, conversion to agricultural land, and oil exploitation (ParksWatch 2002a-d, 2003a-c, 2005). Extensive habitat loss is expected if all of the recently proposed road constructions are carried out (Amor Conde et al. 2007, Ramos et al. 2007), leading to a projected loss of more than 183000 ha of forest by the year 2025 (Ramos et al. 2007).

Recommended Citation BirdLife International (2009) Important Bird Area factsheet: Maya-Lacandon, Guatemala. Downloaded from the Data Zone at http://www.birdlife.org on 9/9/2010