Medio Mundo y Daguao is the most extensive natural protected area under our management and contains the second largest mangrove forest in all the islands of Puerto Rico. Together with the terrestrial, coastal, transitional, estuarine and aquatic ecosystems found in this area, they provide habitats for some 26 species of rare, endemic, vulnerable and endangered species. Among those that have been documented, are the West Indian Manatee, the Yellow-shouldered Blackbird, the Puerto Rican Boa, and several species of sea turtles that depend on the area’s ecosystems.

The lands that make up this natural area also include sandy beaches, rocky coasts, seagrass beds and coral reefs; all of which provide the means of survival for fragile marine communities whose very existence depends on protecting the terrestrial ecosystems to which they are directly connected. Learning and protecting these live interconnections between land and water is precisely what provides us with so many opportunities to enjoy this natural protected area.

Medio Mundo y Daguao represents an invaluable opportunity to integrate economic development to the sustainable use of natural resources. Accessing and boosting such a wide range of human activity is perhaps the greatest challenge of this natural area, both to our organization and to the people of Puerto Rico.