The ecological integrity of the Cuare Wildlife Refuge is threatened.

Navigation channel threatens the ecological integrity of the Cuare Wildlife Refuge, eastern coast of Falcón State, Venezuela.

By: Frank Espinoza. December 2019

The Cuare Wildlife Refuge (Decree No. 972 of May 31, 1972, Official Gazette of the Republic of Venezuela, No. 29,820, of June 2, 1972) is located on the eastern coast of Falcón State and constitutes an area of national and international importance, whose objective is to protect the region’s wildlife, especially resident and migratory birds. In this regard, the Cuare Wildlife Refuge’s Management and Zoning Plan states in Article 3 of its primary objectives: Protect autochthonous and migratory zoological species, conserve their habitats and maintain the ecological processes that sustain them, with emphasis on the following species: Scarlet Ibis (Eudocimus ruber), Flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber ruber), Yellow-shouldered Parrot (Amazona barbadensis), migratory shorebirds, Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors) and the American Crocodile (Crocodylus acutus). The refuge also has an international designation, having been designated a Ramsar site (International Convention for the Conservation of Wetlands) on November 23, 1988, for the same reasons as its creation decree and for the refuge’s international importance in terms of ecology, botany, zoology, limnology and hydrology. Likewise, the RFS Cuare is an Important Bird Area (IBA) in Venezuela (a designation granted by BirdLife International), where the presence of the Flamingo and large numbers of resident and migratory waterbirds was considered a key element to designate the RFS Cuare, within the categories and criteria established internationally by the IBAs.

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