Jeanette Kawas National Park

The Jeanette Kawas National Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Jeannette Kawas) is located in the municipality of Tela, on the northern Caribbean coast of the Atlántida department of Honduras. The park was created and is managed by the PROLANSATE foundation (protection of Lancetilla, Punta Sal and Texiguat).

History

The park was originally named Punta Sal National Park, but the name was changed to Jeanette Kawas National Park in honor of an environmental activist and PROLANSATE president who was slain February 6th 1995 for her work trying to keep the palm plantations out of the park.

Jeanette Kawas National Park is part of the Ramsar Convention List of Wetlands of International Importance and was designated as such on March 28th 1995.

Geography

Located at 15º51'N 087º40'W between longitudes 87º29' and 87º52' west and latitudes 15º42' and 16º00' north on the northern coast of Honduras. It has an area of 781.5 square kilometers.

Ecosystems

The park is made up of varied marine, terrestrial and wetlands ecosystems with a large number of species. These ecosystems include:

* Beaches
* Tropical forests
* Inundated forests
* Mangroves forests
* Lagoon
* Rivers

Species

Birds

* Keel-billed Motmot
* Turquoise-browed Motmot
* Green-breasted Mountain-Gem
* Lovely Cotinga
* Resplendent Quetzal
* Bushy-crested Jay
* Blue-crowned Chlorophonia
* Lesser Ground-Cuckoo

Mammals

* West Indian Manatee
* Stenella dolphin
* Common dolphin
* White-headed Capuchin
* Howler monkey

Fishes

* Tarpon
* Centropomus
* Gafftopsail catfish

Reptiles

* American Crocodile
* Sea turtle, such as Green sea turtle, Leatherback Sea Turtle, Hawksbill turtle and the Loggerhead turtle
* Green Iguana
* Red-tailed Boa
* Mexican burrowing snake

Arthropods

* Caribbean hermit crab
* Golden silk orb-weaver

Plants

* Acalypha skutchii
* Cappatis truerchkhemii
* Columnea tuerckheimii
* Cordia truncatifolia
* Ormosia macrocaly
* Phyllanthus elsiae
* Rinorea hummelii
* Salacia impressifolia
* Sida antillensis
* Sida troyana

References

* [http://www.ramsar.org/sitelist.pdf Basic Ramsar List]
* [http://www.prolansate.org/ Fundacion PROLANSATE web site]

See also

* Municipality of Tela
* Country of Honduras
* Honduras first national park La Tigra National park
* Region of Mesoamerica and the Caribbean

External links

* [http://www.okstate.edu/OSU_Ag/honduras/Papers/Jeanette_Kawas_National_Park/jeanette_kawas_national_park.html Carla Picinich's profile of Jeanette Kawas National Park]
* [http://www.letsgohonduras.com/tela_eng.html Let's Go Honduras (Honduras tourist institute web site)]
* [http://www.birdsofhonduras.com/ Birds of Honduras]
* [http://www.garifunatours.com Garifuna Tours; has some information of what species can be found where]