Area de Conservación Guanacaste World Heritage Site

The Area de Conservación Guanacaste is a network of protected areas and a World Heritage Site in Guanacaste Province, in northwestern Costa Rica. The World Heritage Site contains an unbroken tract of tropical dry forest and important habitat for several vulnerable species, including the Central American tapir, mangrove hummingbird, and the great green macaw.[1] Over 7,000 plant species and 900 vertebrate species have been located in the park.

Area de Conservación Guanacaste
Rincón de la Vieja Volcano
LocationGuanacaste Province, Costa Rica
Coordinates10°51′00″N 85°37′00″W
Area1470 km²
Established1989
Governing bodyNational System of Conservation Areas (SINAC)
TypeNatural
Criteriaix, x
Designated1999 (23rd session)
Reference no.928bis
RegionLatin America and the Caribbean
Extensions2004

Geography

The area of the national parks combined totals 1,470 square kilometers (570 sq mi) as of 2004. This reflects a long-term process of growth, which started with the establishment of Santa Rosa National Park in 1971. Over several decades, surrounding lands were purchased and nearby national parks connected to the growing protected area, so that the Guanacaste Conservation Area came to encompass a high diversity of tropical dry forest, rainforest, cloud forest, and marine habitats. The park contains about two-thirds of the endangered animals of Costa Rica.[2]

It formally became part of National System of Conservation Areas—SINAC in 1994, and a World Heritage Site in 1999. In 2004, the World Heritage Site was extended with a private property measuring 15,000 ha in the Santa Elena rain forest.[1]

Elements

The World Heritage Site includes:

See also

References

  1. "Area de Conservación Guanacaste". United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  2. Pringle, Robert M. (2017). "Upgrading protected areas to conserve wild biodiversity". Nature. 546 (7656): 91–99. Bibcode:2017Natur.546...91P. doi:10.1038/nature22902. PMID 28569807. S2CID 4387383.


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