One of the protected areas of Bocas del Toro with a greater diversity of species of flora and fauna.
The San San Pond Sack Wetland is a protected area that retains a representative sample of the Panamanian Caribbean edaphic associations (Holdridge, 1972), some with characteristics of uniqueness (ecosystems with unique characteristics or only present in one place in the country) and great variety of animal species, some of them in danger of extinction.
This protected area is located in the northwest part of the province of Bocas del Toro, Changuinola district, Changuinola and Guabito sectors, with an extension of coasts of approximately 38 km. Of these, there is about 22 km of beach in the northern part of the protected area, an area that is used by sea turtles for nesting. The average temperature of 27.6°C and the precipitation of 2,800 mm, distributed in the 12 months of the year.
There is not a community defined within the limits of HSSPS, however local residents are engaged to agriculture and subsistence fishing; just as many of them before the creation of protected area, were collectors of eggs of turtles coming to the beaches of San San to nest.
However, through the efforts to raise awareness and promote environmental education activities carried out by the Ministry of Environment, local people formed the Association of Friends and Neighbors of the Coast and Nature (AAMVECONA), whose objective is to support actions for the protection and conservation of the wetland ecosystem in San San, affected by population growth in areas near the HSSPS.
It is an extension of marshes, lowlands, peatlands or surfaces covered with water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, stagnant or in currents, sweet or salty; Including extensions of sea water whose low tidal depth does not exceed six meters. In addition, a wetland includes adjacent riparian or coastal areas, as well as islands or extensions of sea water of more than six meters at low tide when located within a wetland (Ramsar Convention 1971).
