Sierra de Manantlán

Located in the states of Jalisco and Colima (Mexico), the Sierra La Laguna Biosphere Reserve covers an area of 139,577 ha consisting of a mountainous strip almost 100 km wide, running from Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco to the confluence of the Balsas River. It includes a section of the Sierra Madre del Sur near the junction with the Transverse Volcanic Axis and the Sierra Madre Occidental, which is reflected in the landscape, the habitats of the mountain complex and the high level of biological diversity.

Manantlán means “place of springs” or “weeping water places” in Nahuatl. It was given this name because the site is the main source of water supply in the region, sustaining productive activities, biological richness and providing water in quantity and quality for the use and consumption of about 500,000 people in the region. Manantlán was included in the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves in 1988 for its diversity of flora and fauna, its geomorphology and the environmental services it provides to local communities.

Sierra de Manantlán Biosphere Reserve

Habitat of 560 vertebrate species

The Sierra de Manantlán is home to 36% of bird species and 26% of mammal species of the Republic of Mexico. The area is also of importance for the conservation of nectarivorous bats, which function as the main pollinators of native flora and crops

4 Nahua communities

The reserve is inhabited by four Nahua communities, one of the Indigenous peoples of Mexico. More than 60 petroglyphs have been recorded, most of which are representations of games and expressions of the ancient inhabitants of the region.

8,000 inhabitants

live from ecotourism, sustainable forest management, agriculture and artisan production. Seven hundred inhabitants are organized into groups for the production of honey, coffee and maize, and the promotion of about 10 community brands.

From Alaska to the Sierra de Manantlán

Selasphorus rufus hummingbirds migrate from Alaska to the forests of the Sierra de Manantlán to spend the winter, a 6,000 km journey. During their stay they feed on more than 183 species of orchids and 35 species of salvias.

Selasphorus rufus hummingbird, Sierra de Manantlán Biosphere Reserve

Alan Barajas / Archivo DRBSM

The oldest living ancestor of maize

Conservation in the Sierra de Manantlán began with the discovery in the late 1970s of Zea diploperennis (chapule, milpilla, teocintle), an endemic species identified as the oldest living ancestor of maize. Currently considered threatened on Mexico’s list of endangered species, chapule – as it is called by the Indigenous people living in the biosphere reserve – is used to genetically strengthen native maize crops against diseases which threaten the plant.

Fernando Gavito

Research

In 1984, the Jalisco state government decreed the establishment of the Las Joyas Research Station, then in 1985, the Manantlán Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity Conservation (IMECBIO) was created for research and education. Both form part of the University of Guadalajara.

Gerardo Ramos/RBSM

Felines

Sierra La Laguna Biosphere Reserve is home to six species of felines that inhabit Mexico: puma (Puma concolor), jaguar (Panthera onca), ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), yaguarundi (Herpailurus yagoaroundi), lynx (Linx rufus) and margay (Leopardus wiedii).