Current view: Text account
Site description (2003 baseline):
Site location and context
This site includes San Lorenzo National Park, plus adjacent forested areas. The lower Chagres River runs through the middle of the area, and the terrain is broken by many small streams flowing into the Chagres or the Caribbean Sea. This area was formerly the U.S. military base of Ft. Sherman. It includes the World Heritage site of colonial Fort San Lorenzo.
The site is important for migratory raptors, with 120,282 Turkey Vultures, 80,372 Broad-winged Hawks, and 60,800 Swainson's Hawks have been counted on autumn migration.
The globally near-threatened Plumbeous Hawk and Great Curassow occur. Several nationally threatened species are also found, notably Rufous-necked Wood-Rail, Colombian Crake and Spotted Rail, which are known from only a few sites in Panama. A few endemics of the Central American Caribbean Slope and Darien Lowlands EBAs also occur.
Non-bird biodiversity: Mammals recorded or probably present include Water Opossum, Central American Wooly Opossum, Silky Anteater, Tricolored Bat, Geoffroy's Tamarin, Western Night Monkey, Panamanian Spiny Pocket-Mouse, Capybara, Crab-eating Raccoon, Olingo, Neotropical River Otter, Ocelot, Margay, Jaguarundi, Jaguar, Baird's Tapir and West Indian Manatee. Reptiles and amphibians include the lizard Anolis lionotus, the snakes Urotheca fulviceps and Atropoides nummifer, and American Crocodile.
Most of the area is covered with evergreen lowland forest, with deciduous forest on limestone outcrops. The Mojinga Swamp includes cativo (
Prioria copaifera) forest and an open marsh dominated by herbaceous vegetation and palms. There are small areas of mangroves on the coast, which also contains some fringing coral reefs. Several small rural latino communities to the west of the site are devoted to cattle and subsistence agriculture. The former Piña Range and two other small ranges formerly used for weapons testing are designated as "Deferred Use" (960 ha) due to the threat of unexploded ordnance. The facilities of the former U.S. military base of Ft. Sherman occupy the northernmost point of the site.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
A substantial area of forest (1,250 ha) along the coast between the Gatún Locks and Ft. Sherman has been zoned for urban use, although there are no specific plans for development at present. An additional 325 ha of forest is designated as Canal Operating Area and under the control of the Panama Canal Authority. Poaching, including market-hunting, is a serious problem, partly because of the proximity of the economically depressed city of Colón. There is strong pressure from neighboring rural communities to permit agroforestry in part of the area, particularly along Achiote Road in the south, and some illegal clearing continues. The area has very high potential for tourism due to its closeness to Panama City and to the picturesque and historic ruins of the Spanish colonial fort of San Lorenzo, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Conservation responses/actions for key biodiversity
The site has been the focus of several conservation projects by CEASPA, a Panamanian organization working on socioeconomic issues, including promotion of bird-watching along Achiote Road, the construction of a birding trail, training for local guides, and raptor counts with local participation. The site is has been part of the Panama Audubon Society's Raptors Ocean to Ocean hawk count in 2004 and 2005.
San Lorenzo National Park was established in 2005.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: San Lorenzo National Park (Panama). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/san-lorenzo-national-park-iba-panama on 23/11/2024.
