cuixmala
Above all, Cuixmala is a place of nature, and we want to keep it that way for future generations
In addition to our environmentally-friendly practices and support for local communities, the Cuixmala Ecological Foundation sponsors programs to protect the surrounding high biodiversity dry tropical forest, our unspoiled beaches and mangrove lagoons, along with the many species of birds, plants and animals that thrive here.
The turtle protection program has returned tens of thousands of baby turtles to the sea, and is responsible for helping their populations to rebound. It’s not unusual to see more than a dozen sea turtles on a typical morning boat excursion. The Cuixmala Ecological Foundation, founded in 1988, was instrumental in establishing the vast Chamela-Cuixmala Biosphere Reserve, the first reserve of its kind in Mexico to protect one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots.
The biosphere reserve hosts a wide variety of ecosystems that make up one of the most diverse and heterogeneous landscapes on the Pacific coast of the Americas
It is important for the conservation of the wide dry and deciduous tropical forest, considered among the most threatened ecosystems in the world. The region Chamela-Cuixmala is located on the coastal plain of the Sierra Madre del Sur in the subprovinces of the Sierras of Jalisco and Colima. It is a predominantly mountainous region where the relief of the coastal plain is dominated by hills, which are interrupted by plains or floodplains of rivers or streams. The climate is tropical with strong seasonality between the rainy (July to October) and dry season (November-June). The climate of the region is hot and humid with average annual temperature of 25 °C, the coldest month exceeds 18 °C.
The biosphere reserve is located 170 km from the city of Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco and 100 km from the city of Manzanillo, Colima. Rural populations closest to the reserve, having a population between 300 and 1500 people are Pérula, San Mateo, Francisco Villa and Emiliano Zapata. Within the limits of the core area, there are no established populations, only some research facilities and logistical support from the Biological Station and the Ecological Foundation of Cuixmala. In the tranistion zone population is estimated at 5800 people. This area contains both natural ecosystems and ecosystems transformed by human activities that are practiced in the region. In this area numerous agricultural activities are developed, mainly related to livestock and tourism. There is a management tool which is the Ecological Management Plan for the Coast Jalisco Region, developed by the state government and supported by the federal government, which regulates from an environmental point of view, economic activities that can be developed in the region.
