Biosphere Reserves in Central America

The Agua y Paz (Water and Peace) Biosphere Reserve in northern Costa Rica is comprised of Juan Castro Blanco National Park, Caño Negro National Wildlife Refuge, four biological corridors, and an indigenous community. It is characterized by mountain ranges, volcanoes, and plains.

The Apaneca-Ilamatepec Biosphere Reserve, located in El Salvador and part of the Central America Volcanic Arc, safeguards significant ecosystems for species preservation. It contains many habitats, which contribute to its high diversity.

The Bosawás Biosphere Reserve is located in the north of Nicaragua, next to the border with Honduras. Together with three neighboring protected areas of Honduras, it constitutes the largest protected area complex of tropical mountain moist forest north of the Amazon Basin.

Celaque National Park is part of the Cacique Lempira - Señor de las Montañas Biosphere Reserve located in the western part of Honduras. Its ecosystem is primarily cloud forest and includes Cerro las Minas, the highest mountain in Honduras.

The Cordillera Volcánica Central Biosphere Reserve, located in the Central Highlands of Costa Rica, is rich in natural resources and cultural heritage. It encompasses four national parks, two forest reserves, six protected zones, and a national monument.

Darién National Park and Biosphere Reserve is the largest protected area in Panama and a World Heritage Site containing an exceptional variety of habitats: sandy beaches, rocky coasts, mangroves, and swamps, as well as lowland and upland tropical forests containing remarkable wildlife.

The Maya Biosphere Reserve in the Petén region of northern Guatemala and the Maya Forest of Belize and Mexico represents one of the largest areas of tropical forest north of the Amazon and the northernmost in the Western Hemisphere.

Ometepe is an island in southwest Nicaragua, formed by two volcanoes rising from Lake Nicaragua. It is the lake's largest island. Two imposing volcanoes, Maderas and Concepción, define its topography. The island has been designated a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO.

Located on the watershed of the Río Plátano, the Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site is one of the few remnants of tropical rainforest in Central America. With a diverse abundance of plants and wildlife within its landscape, over 2,000 indigenous people have preserved their traditional way of life.

The Río San Juan Biosphere Reserve comprises seven protected areas. It covers an important variety of ecosystems representative of tropical humid forests and wetlands, tidal marshes, coastal lagoons and estuaries which are essential shelters for rare or threatened animals and plants.