Progress in Protecting the Los Horcones River Basin, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico: Session of the State Council of Protected Natural Areas
Dr. Cristóbal Sánchez Sánchez
On October 9, 2025, the Sixth Session of the State Council of Protected Natural Areas and Other Conservation Instruments of Jalisco was held in Guadalajara, at the facilities of the State Secretariat of Economic Development (SEDECO), under the coordination of the Secretariat of Environment and Territorial Development (SEMADET). The Vallarta Botanical Garden participates in the ongoing work of this Council as we ourselves are a government-recognized “Area Voluntarily Designated for Conservation.”
The meeting in October included a participatory workshop for the design of a new online portal for the State System of Protected Natural Areas. The portal will provide clear information on each area, including on its ecological and sociocultural importance.
Also at the October session, VBG supported the request for inter-institutional collaboration to advance a proposal to create a new Protected Natural Area of the Los Horcones river basin, encompassing both Puerto Vallarta and Cabo Corrientes. We have also submit the proposal to federal authorities.
Essentially, our proposal seeks to protect the last free-flowing river to the sea in the municipality of Puerto Vallarta. This river is home to emblematic species such as the River Otter, the Green Macaw, and large felines, as well as endemic species like the oak trees of the El Tuito and El Cuale mountain ranges and many other trees native to western Mexico.
Conserving and celebrating the unique plant biodiversity of the Los Horcones river basin is the core mission of our botanical garden, and a designation by the government acknowledging the importance of the ecosystems found here would help us significantly in advancing our work to combat illegal and unsustainable development, and investigate and preserve the flora and fauna found here.
Dr. Carmen Anaya, a member of the Scientific Committee of the Vallarta Botanical Garden and professor at the University Center of the Coast, University of Guadalajara, is the coordinator of the team that carried out the Technical Justification Study for the proposal, in which the eminent Dr. Rafael Guzmán Mejía, who passed away a year ago, also worked diligently.
One last good news is that the next session of this State Council will be held right here, in the Vallarta Botanical Garden at the beginning of 2026, since we have been selected as the venue. It will be a great opportunity to continue promoting among our authorities the unparalleled biodiversity of the Los Horcones River Basin.
