The Acaponeta river basin in Northwest Mexico links two IBAs: Marismas Nacionales, a coastal wetland hosting 300,000 waterbirds annually; and Pueblo Nuevo, a forested site with a range of threatened birds. The area provides a range of ecosystem services to some 125,000 people and is in very good ecological condition. Pronatura (BirdLife in Mexico) is working to designate the catchment as a “water reserve”, a novel way of ensuring that at least 70% of the water flow reaches the sea. This will have the dual benefits of maintaining and restoring forest cover in the upper parts of the catchment (where Pueblo Nuevo lies) and preserving the ecological integrity of Marismas Nacionales downstream. By conducting conservation work that supports important functional links between different areas of the river basin, more than 1 million hectares of this landscape of high biological importance will be maintained in good conservation condition.