On 5 March 1987, the President of Mexico, Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado, signs a federal decree establishing the Sierra de Manantlán Biosphere Reserve. The reserve comprises a mountainous area of 139,500 ha and encompasses 45 communities. The decree is essentially a zoning regulation, whereby owners maintain the title to their lands, but restrictions are imposed in order to conserve ecological services (e.g. water sources) and biological diversity. The Sierra de Manantlán is the first protected area in Mexico decreed to maintain traditional agricultural systems and a diversity of crop types.
The Sierra de Manantlán mountain range rises from 400 to 2,860 meters above sea level. Two major geographic realms meet each other here, in what is called the Nearctic-Neotropical transition zone. The Sierra de Manantlán thus houses many species from the temperate north that live at the southern tip of their zone, along with many tropical species at the extreme of their northern habitat, resulting in a high degree of biodiversity.
Eight different types of forests are present in the reserve including mesophytic, cloud, dry deciduous and semi-deciduous tropical forests. Around 40 tree species have been commercially exploited for timber. The flora is particularly rich with 30 endemic species, including the discovered ancestral corn species, 'Teosinte' (Zea Diploperennis), which helped lead to the establishment of the reserve. The high degree of diversity is also found in the wide variety of animal species present.
Cattle and agriculture are the main sources of income of the people who live in the Sierra de Manantlán region, many in poor and marginal living conditions. Ecological services derived from the reserve zone are estimated to benefit 691,000 people in what is considered the influence region.
According to UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere Programme, Biosphere Reserves are areas of terrestrial and coastal ecosystems promoting solutions to reconcile the conservation of biodiversity with its sustainable use. They are internationally recognized, nominated by national governments and remain under sovereign jurisdiction of the states where they are located. Biosphere reserves serve in some ways as 'living laboratories' for testing out and demonstrating integrated management of land, water and biodiversity. Each biosphere reserve is intended to fulfil three basic functions, which are complementary and mutually reinforcing:
Eight different types of forests are present in the reserve including mesophytic, cloud, dry deciduous and semi-deciduous tropical forests. Around 40 tree species have been commercially exploited for timber. The flora is particularly rich with 30 endemic species, including the discovered ancestral corn species, 'Teosinte' (Zea Diploperennis), which helped lead to the establishment of the reserve. The high degree of diversity is also found in the wide variety of animal species present.
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