• Location: San Quintin Bay, Baja California.
• Area: 13,437.30 acres.
• Date of designation: February 2, 2008.
• Designation: 1775th Wetland of International Importance.

San Quintin has been included in the List of Wetlands of International Importance (also known as the Ramsar List) as the site number 1775 since February 2, 2008.

The site covers an area of 1,3437 acres, and it consists of a coastal plain and a slightly hypersaline coastal lagoon.

This designation was achieved through the Coalition for the Protection of San Quintin Bay, integrated by Pro Esteros, The Nature Conservancy, Pronatura Noroeste and Terra Peninsular. 

The federal jurisdiction of the Ramsar site is under the responsibility of the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources of the Mexican government. And the management of the site is in charge of the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas with the support of Terra Peninsular for surveillance, management and monitoring.

Characteristics

• It is considered a priority area for its protection according to criteria that establish the importance of representative, rare or unique wetlands, which are used by endangered species and ecological communities, as well as by important aquatic bird populations due to their density and worldwide distribution.
• Endangered species spend the winter, feed and reproduce. Some of these species are:
  • Light-footed clapper rail (Rallus longirostris levipes)
  • Black rail (Laterallus jamaicensis)
  • Least tern (Sterna antillarum browni)
  • Belding’s savannah sparrow(Passerculus sandwichensis beldingi)
  • California gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica atwoodi)
  • Western snowy plover (Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus)
• In addition, each winter the site receives between 30 and 50% of the total population of the black brant (Branta bernicla nigricans), a migratory species that arrives from Alaska to San Quintin Bay.

What are wetlands?

The definition of the word ‘wetland’, under the Convention, is any land area that is saturated or flooded with water, either seasonally or permanently. Inland wetlands include aquifers, lakes, rivers, streams, marshes, peatlands, ponds, flood plains and swamps. Coastal wetlands include all coastlines, mangroves, saltmarshes, estuaries, lagoons, seagrass meadows and coral reefs.

Importance of wetlands

Traditionally viewed as wasteland or a breeding ground for disease, wetlands are vital for humanity for a number of reasons:

• Wetlands provide fresh water. Freshwater wetlands give us our water for basic drinking, cooking and washing needs and for irrigation.
• Wetlands feed humanity. Rice, grown in wetland paddies, is the staple diet of nearly three billion people, and accounts for 20 % of the world’s food.
• Wetlands are nature’s shock absorbers. The wetlands within river basins act as natural sponges, absorbing rainfall, reducing flood impact and this same storage capacity also helps safeguard against drought. Mangroves and coral reefs reduce the speed and height of storm surges and impact of tsunamis and hurricanes.
• Wetlands are critical for biodiversity. Wetlands are home to more than 100,000 known freshwater species, and this number is growing all the time. Wetlands are also essential for many amphibians, as well as for bird breeding and migration.
• Wetlands create sustainable products and livelihoods. More than 660 million people depend on fishing and aquaculture for their livelihoods. Wetlands also provide timber for building, vegetable oil, medicinal plants, raw material for weaving and fodder for animals.

Information retrieved from the fact sheet: The Ramsar Convention: What’s it all about?

Ramsar sites in Mexico

In Mexico there are 142 Ramsar sites, this represents over 21 million acres of protected wetlands. 

The designated sites in Baja California are the following:

• Coastal Corridor La Asamblea-San Francisquito, Mar de Cortez: 109,477.09 acres.
• Isla Rasa, Mar de Cortez: 163.09 acres.
• San Quintin Bay: 1,3437 acres.
• Estero de Punta Banda: 5,913.87 acres.
• Hanson Lagoon, Constitution of 1857 National Park: 1,262.65 acres.

About the Ramsar Convention

The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, more commonly known as the Ramsar Convention, is an international agreement promoting the conservation and wise use of wetlands. It is the only global treaty to focus on a single ecosystem. 

It is named for the city in Iran where the treaty was signed in 1971.

There are over 2200 designated Ramsar Sites covering more than 208 million hectares.

Also, each year on February 2, the convention promotes World Wetlands Day https://www.worldwetlandsday.org/home

More information

The Ramsar Convention has fact sheets to summarize information about wetlands.

List of fact sheets

Related articles

• Wetlands and a New Nature Reserve
• Marine Conservation Projects in San Quintin
• World Wetlands Day Is Celebrated on February 2
• The Importance of Marine Conservation in San Quintin
• Blue Carbon and Its Value for Society
• Why Are Wetlands Important?
• How Can We Take Care of Wetlands?