MESOAMERICAN BIODIVERSITY

HOTSPOT
The Mesoamerican bodiversity hotspot encompases the
territories from central Mexico to the Panama Canal
composed by subtropical and tropical ecosystems.
Is the biggest Montane forest in Central America and the
third biggest hotspot in the world with over 1.100.000 km
This includes Belize, Costa Rica , El Salvador ,
Guatemala , Honduras , a third of Mexico , Nicaragua
and two thirds of Panama.
This montane forests are home of over 17.000 plant
species of which 2941 are endemic , it is also a place of
passage for many Neotropical bird species , furthermore
we can find 232 threatened amphibians like the
Bromeliad tree frog , reptiles like the Mesoamerican river
Turtle, moreover 31 threatened bird species like the
Brown Pelican and the Ocellated Turkey and the famous
Quetzal who is the emblem of Guatemala , also 29
mammals are in danger like the Black Howler Monkey
,the Spider Monkey , the Ocelot ,the Jaguar and the
Puma.
Sadly Mesoamerica has one of the biggest deforestation
rates in the world with and 80% of the 1.100.000km has
been cleared or significantly altered , one of the most
affected places is El Salvador which less than the 5% of
its original forest cover and only 2% with protected status
but it isnt the only affected ,Guatemalas Caribbean
region has lost 360,000 acres of rainforest, nearly 40% of
its forest.
There are only 142.103 km protected so the climate
change and deforestation are declining the number of
endemic species.
The Mesoamerican hotspot also includes nearshore and
offshore islands in both the Caribbean sea and the
Pacific Ocean such as the Revillagigedos , Tres Marias
Islands , Cozumel all from Mexico , Islas de la Baha
(Honduras) , Cocos ( Costa Rica), Providencia and San
Andrs (Colombia), and Coiba (Panama), as well as
Clipperton Island (France).
The ecosystem is formed by a set of dry forests, lowland
moist forest, and montane forests. The Caribbean
lowlands are home to most of the subtropical wet forests
and rain forests. In the southern part of the hotspot we
can find premontane and montane hardwood forests.
The Human Population Density is of 72 people per km.
Projects like FUNDAECO are helping this communities to
be fully integrated in the future management of the
reserve and finding solutions like the legal declaration of
the Sierra Santa Cruz Protected Area which will
safeguard the habitat of many rare and endemic species
and preserve the largest unprotected rainforest in
Guatemalas Caribbean region.