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Management and Protection of Biodiversity in the Private Reserve of El Zapotal   The objectives of this project are: a) to protect the key ecological processes, the biologic diversity and natural ecosystems in the influence zone of the Biosphere Reserve of Ria Lagartos (RBRL), b) to elaborate and develop the Management Program for the Reserve of El Zapotal as a document that promotes strategies to ensure conservation and sustainable management of natural resources in the area, c) to promote the development of scientific and technical research of management and conservation through strategic alliances in different sectors, d) to have basic infrastructure that can support research and monitoring activities. The Private Reserve of El Zapotal covers 2,300 ha and is located in the northeast of the Tizimin municipality, Yucatan. The reserve is of strategic value, because it includes one of the last portions of Seasonal Evergreen Forest in good state of conservation in the northeast of Yucatan. The geological features and ground type of this place permit the presence of a mix of ecosystems like Tropical Evergreen Seasonal Lowland Swamp Forest, American Waterlogged Savanna and Palm aggregations. As a preliminary approach, 100 water systems of various sizes have been registered (cenotes and superficial water accumulations), which serve as habitat and water source for a great variety of flora and fauna. Preliminary studies have identified 111 plant species, 157 bird species and 25 species of mammals. The rapid advance of the farming frontier towards coastal wetlands has gravely reduced and fragmented the natural habitat of feline populations, of which there is hardly enough updated knowledge. In this zone there tends to be a very changing dynamic in the use of the lands, and new areas are continuously being allocated as agricultural or cattle rising zones (Olmsted et al. 1999). Fires are an important threat to natural ecosystems in the region, due to the traditional economic activities associated to agriculture, cattle rising and hunting that provoke them in many occasions. Hunting is usually developed as a subsistence method, and sometimes as a furtive activity. The most hunted animals include the white-tailed deer, the warthog, the paca, and the ocellated turkey. The program is supported by the CONAFOR as part of the PSA-CABSA program (Protection of Biodiversity), destined for the El Zapotal Reserve and some neighboring communities. The PROFEPA is fomenting the creation of a Communal Vigilance Committee for the Protection of the Jaguar. In the next phases, an “Ecological Servitude” will be established for El Zapotal, so as to reinforce the protection of the reserve in the long run, the short term strategies identified in the Management Program will be developed, and infrastructure will be consolidated to support qualification and promotion of environmental education in the reserve’s neighboring communities. The development and functioning of this reserve has been achieved thanks to the participation of TNC (The Nature Conservancy), NAWCC (North American Wetlands Conservation Council), US-FWS (United States’ Fish and Wildlife Service), CONAFOR (Comisión Nacional Forestal, México) and LightHawk. For further information, please contact: Juan Carlos Faller (jcfaller@pronatura-ppy.org.mx) or Rafael Roldán (rafaelroldan@pronatura-ppy.org.mx).     INVENTORY OF THE FAUNA FOUND IN THE PRIVATE RESERVE EL ZAPOTAL, IN THE INFLUENCE ZONE OF THE BIOSPHERE RESERVE OF RÍA LAGARTOS, YUCATÁN, MÉXICO.   See more ... FLORA IN THE PRIVATE RESERVE EL ZAPOTAL, MUNICIPALITY OF TIZIMIN, YUCATAN   See more ... GEOMORPHOLOGIC AND GEOHIDROLOGIC DESCRIPTION OF THE OF THE PRIVATE RESERVE EL ZAPOTAL, IN THE YUCATAN PENINSULA, MEXICO   See more ... Second annual report to NAWCC   See more ... Satelite image of the Private reserve El Zapotal   See more ...       Related Galleries Related Projects El Zapotal Reserve 21 file(s)( Imagen )   Fauna El Zapotal 15 file(s)( Imagen )   Environmental Education and Qualification of Field Assistants for a “Jaguar Route” Protection of an Important Bird habitat in the North of the Yucatan Peninsula Study on the Jaguar Population (Panthera onca) in the Northeast of the Yucatan Peninsula

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