Save the Celestun Estuary!
Donation protected
Wetlands – critical to both people and wildlife for habitat, flood control and clean water – are being lost at an alarming rate. More than 60% have been lost worldwide in the past 100 years alone.
About 20 million acres of those wetlands are found south of the U.S. border in Mexico, but continue to be lost primarily due to economic development and other human activities.
Mangrove wetlands, like those found in the Ria Celestun region of Mexico's Gulf coast, are habitat for iconic species including the American Flamingo. Yet mangroves are disappearing due to development, urban expansion and the explosion of shrimp aquaculture. Within the Celestun estuary, which has been designated a wetland of international significance, a single improperly built causeway has cut off the natural and vital interchange of fresh and salt water between the mangrove estuary and the sea. The flow of water is critical for maintaining lush, healthy and productive mangrove wetlands that provide habitat for more than 300 species of birds and hundreds of other species of wildlife that rely on this threatened habitat. Many of the migrating waterfowl and shorebirds found in the U.S., as well as the unique and beautiful North American flamingo, need this habitat to complete their annual, continent-spanning journeys.
When cut off from the natural tidal flow, these mangroves can no longer support the fish and wildlife species and other plants that depend on them. The end result? The entire ecosystem dies. Even local fishermen and the traditional commercial fisheries and developing ecotourism industry that support impoverished local communities suffer as these mangrove-dependent fish nurseries decline and disappear.
But it's not too late to save Celestun. For more than 40 years, Ducks Unlimited de Mexico, or DUMAC, has been conserving habitat for migrating waterfowl, shorebirds and other species, like the iconic North American flamingo, that are dependent on mangroves and related wetland habitat during some part of their life cycle.
DUMAC has a plan to restore natural tidal flows to the Celestun mangroves before it's too late by building needed culverts through the causeway that bisects the estuary and has cut off the life-giving water so many species need to survive and thrive there. Many, like the flamingo, need the precious resources of Celestun in order to successfully breed and raise young.
Your support, combined with matching contributions from DUMAC and our conservation partners, will continue mangrove restoration within the Ria Celestun region and help turn the tide back toward healthy, vibrant mangroves that will support wildlife and nearby communities for generations to come.
*For every donation of $10 or more, we will send you the pink flamingo bottle opener key chain as our thanks for your support!
Since 1974, Ducks Unlimited de Mexico, A.C. (DUMAC), based in Monterrey, MX, has restored and impacted more than 1.5 million acres throughout Mexico in areas that are important for wintering waterfowl and other wetland-dependent species. If you would like to know more, please visit our website at http://www.dumac.org/dumac/habitat/ing/proyectos01a.htm.
About 20 million acres of those wetlands are found south of the U.S. border in Mexico, but continue to be lost primarily due to economic development and other human activities.
Mangrove wetlands, like those found in the Ria Celestun region of Mexico's Gulf coast, are habitat for iconic species including the American Flamingo. Yet mangroves are disappearing due to development, urban expansion and the explosion of shrimp aquaculture. Within the Celestun estuary, which has been designated a wetland of international significance, a single improperly built causeway has cut off the natural and vital interchange of fresh and salt water between the mangrove estuary and the sea. The flow of water is critical for maintaining lush, healthy and productive mangrove wetlands that provide habitat for more than 300 species of birds and hundreds of other species of wildlife that rely on this threatened habitat. Many of the migrating waterfowl and shorebirds found in the U.S., as well as the unique and beautiful North American flamingo, need this habitat to complete their annual, continent-spanning journeys.
When cut off from the natural tidal flow, these mangroves can no longer support the fish and wildlife species and other plants that depend on them. The end result? The entire ecosystem dies. Even local fishermen and the traditional commercial fisheries and developing ecotourism industry that support impoverished local communities suffer as these mangrove-dependent fish nurseries decline and disappear.
But it's not too late to save Celestun. For more than 40 years, Ducks Unlimited de Mexico, or DUMAC, has been conserving habitat for migrating waterfowl, shorebirds and other species, like the iconic North American flamingo, that are dependent on mangroves and related wetland habitat during some part of their life cycle.
DUMAC has a plan to restore natural tidal flows to the Celestun mangroves before it's too late by building needed culverts through the causeway that bisects the estuary and has cut off the life-giving water so many species need to survive and thrive there. Many, like the flamingo, need the precious resources of Celestun in order to successfully breed and raise young.
Your support, combined with matching contributions from DUMAC and our conservation partners, will continue mangrove restoration within the Ria Celestun region and help turn the tide back toward healthy, vibrant mangroves that will support wildlife and nearby communities for generations to come.
*For every donation of $10 or more, we will send you the pink flamingo bottle opener key chain as our thanks for your support!
Since 1974, Ducks Unlimited de Mexico, A.C. (DUMAC), based in Monterrey, MX, has restored and impacted more than 1.5 million acres throughout Mexico in areas that are important for wintering waterfowl and other wetland-dependent species. If you would like to know more, please visit our website at http://www.dumac.org/dumac/habitat/ing/proyectos01a.htm.
Organizer and beneficiary
Ducks Unlimited de Mexico
Organizer
Memphis, TN
Celestun Ducks Unlimited de Mexico
Beneficiary
