Cross-Border, Nature Based Market Solutions to Protect Blue Carbon Coastal Ecosystems in the Californias

March 2022

County Wetlands (including Boca Chica Ecological Reserve), the San Onofre State Beach, the San Diego Bay Natural Wildlife Reserve, and the Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Reserve.

general, and migratory birds in particular. Being able to support a large population of migratory shorebirds, some of these sites have been designated as a Natural Protected Area (NPA) and have been recognized by the Ramsar Convention as sites of International Importance (Ramsar); the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserves Network (WHSRN), as Areas of Importance for Bird Conservation (AICA/IBA), and, as Areas of Continental Importance in North America for Ducks, Geese, and Swan (DUMAC). See Table I. Designations of importance of peninsular wetlands to migratory birds. The table indicates name, designation, and/or protection status of each site. Key: NPA = Natural Protected Area; WHSRN = Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserves Network; RAMSAR = Wetland of International Importance; AICA = Area of Importance for Bird Conservation; MMPA = Mexico Marine Priority Area; DUMAC = Area of Continental Importance in North America for Ducks, Geese, and Swan. Table I:

Along the Baja California peninsula, relevant coastal habitats for migratory birds include:

• In Baja California: Bahía Todo Santos, Estero Punta Banda, Bahía San Quintín, Delta del Rio Colorado, and Guadalupe Island. • In Baja California Sur: Guerrero Negro Wetland Complex (including Laguna Ojo de Liebre y Laguna Guerrero Negro), Cedros Island, San Ignacio Wetland Complex, Bahía Magdalena Wetland Complex, Ensenada de La Paz, and Estero San José. Collectively, these coastal blue carbon ecosystems have been recognized by different international entities because of their importance to birds in

Designations/ Sites Ensenada de La Paz

NPA

WHSRN

RAMSAR

AICA

MMPA

DUMAC

R R

√

√ √

√ √

Bahía Magdalena Wetland Complex

√

San

Ignacio

Wetland

RB

I

√

√

√

√

Complex

Guerrero Negro wetland complex

RB

H

√

√

√

√

San Quintin Bay

R R H

√ √ √

√

√

√

Punta Banda Estero

√ √

Delta del Rio Colorado wetlands

RB

√

√

Source: Pronatura Noroeste, 2022

The diversity and abundance of different organisms found in coastal wetlands of California is surprising in light of the extreme and variable conditions that characterize them. The rich mix of aquatic and terrestrial taxa results in a mosaic of

species throughout the wetland, which include bacteria, protozoa, algae, vascular plants, invertebrates, mollusks, amphibians, fish, birds, and mammals. Many of these species cannot live, or cannot complete their life cycles, in other

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