Jiquilisco Bay has become El Salvador’s first site in the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network, as a site of regional importance. It is the 128th site designated across the Americas.
The bay has about 63,500 hectares of coastal wetlands, with mangroves, estuaries, tidal flats and sandy beaches, and is the country’s largest brackish-water and mangrove wetland. The designation was based mainly on the Wilson’s plover, though other shorebirds also use the bay.
Jiquilisco has been a Ramsar wetland of international importance since 2005 and a UNESCO biosphere reserve since 2007. The nomination was prepared by the SalvaNatura Ecological Foundation, with support from the Ministry of Environment.
