Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: Marshes in Danger

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GUATEMALA CITY, Mar 24 2003 (IPS) - A 13,500-hectare marshland in Guatemala, the country's largest, is threatened by increased depredation and contamination, warns a new scientific study. The biodiversity of Manchón Guamuchal, a stopping point for migratory birds located southeast of the capital near the Pacific coast, is being hurt by the destruction of mangroves and the pollution caused by the shrimp and banana industries, according to the research of Brazilian expert Yara Schaeffer-Novelli.

The area “is the sole remaining site in Guatemala where 14 duck species can be found, 12 of which are migratory, and 20 species of herons,” as well as other birds, says the scientist.

“Manchón is the most important area of special protection on the southwestern Guatemalan coast and the only place in the region to host migratory birds, which use the western corridor originating in Canada and the United States,” she writes.