Current view: Text account
Site description (2008 baseline):
Site location and context
Rio La Pasion is located in the Atlantic slope lowlands. The western limit is marked by the Usumacinta river, bordering Chiapas, Mexico.
Rio La Pasion is an important site for 12 species restricted to the Gulf Caribbean Slope. Recent ornithological information is limited to an ecological rapid assessment (AHT 2000) and some additional species records (Eisermann & Avendaño 2007).
Humid broadleaf forests cover 39% of the IBA, wetlands (including forested wetlands) cover 9%. About 26% of the IBA are used for agriculture: 19% corn fields, 4% cattle farming, 4% oil palm (
Elaeis guineensis) (MAGA 2006).
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Protected areas in this IBA lack appropriate management and surveillance. Natural habitat is threatened by an advancing agricultural border and forest fires (ParksWatch 2002).
This IBA is entirely legally protected (CONAP 2007). The site contains a national park, two wildlife refuges, a biological reserve, and several cultural monuments. Surrounding area is declared as buffer zone. The area is threatened by management deficiencies.
Wildlife Conservation Society - Guatemala hosted a workshop to identify IBAs in Peten in July 2006. Input of unpublished data and suggestions for the delimitation of the IBA was provided during this workshop by representatives of Consejo Nacional de Areas Protegidas (CONAP) - Peten, ProPeten, Wildlife Conservation Society - Guatemala, and Tikal National Park. This first assessment of IBAs in Guatemala was conducted by Sociedad Guatemalteca de Ornitología and BirdLife International in the Americas.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Rio La Pasion (Guatemala). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/rio-la-pasion-iba-guatemala on 23/12/2024.
