El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve

The El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve is Mexico's most diverse evergreen cloud forest and one of the most important sites for bird migration. It is covered with seasonal evergreen forests, montane rainforests, and lower montane rainforests that contain a higher proportion of endemic plants.

El Triunfo is situated in the mountains of the Sierra Madre de Chiapas. The terrain is generally steep and mountainous. The Reserve is the limit between the state's largest hydrological regions: the Pacific coast and the Grijalva-Usumacinta River.

El Triunfo's cloud forest is reported to be one of the most extensive remnants in the country and contains the greatest diversity of tree species in North and Central America.

The Sierra Madre de Chiapas, where El Triunfo is located, is one of the regions in the country that receives the most rainfall.

The dense forest cover acts like a sponge, absorbing moisture from the rain and dense mist, thus making a high contribution to the rivers irrigating the coastal plain of the Pacific and the State's Central Depression.

Flora and Fauna

Knowledge of the Biosphere Reserve flora is still incomplete, but 977 species have been reported.

As a primary Pleistocene refuge, it is considered an endemic area for different groups of plants and animals. In addition, several threatened mammalian species can be found in the Reserve, namely Geoffroy's spider monkey, margay, jaguar, and puma.

The El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve protects 10 of the 19 types of vegetation reported for the State of Chiapas. Among them are two of the most endangered ecosystems in Mexico, the cloud forest and the rain forest.

Regarding fauna, there are 548 terrestrial vertebrate species, representing 45% of those reported for Chiapas and 22% of those registered for Mexico.

Twenty-two species of amphibians have been recorded, comprising 23% of those registered for Chiapas and 7.5% of those for the country. As for reptiles, 63 species are known, corresponding to 32% of those known for Chiapas and 9% of those reported for the country.

One hundred and twelve species of mammals have been recorded. Invertebrates have generally been the least studied group of fauna in the Reserve.

For the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, 588 species of daytime Lepidoptera butterflies have been identified, corresponding to 49% of those identified for Chiapas.

Socio-Economic

The human population is estimated to be approximately 229,000 in the buffer and transition area, and a floating population migrates from Guatemala to work on coffee plantations.

The main activities are agriculture, primarily based on coffee cultivation, maize, palm oil, construction, and cattle raising. Therefore, coffee plantations have become an important issue, greatly influencing the local people's economic, social, and political lives.

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