Venezuela: “An Avatar” turned into Mangrove Park to the Community

The Biological Station ” Peoples of Water ” (Program developed by The Blue Environmentalists Foundation in conjunction with the Center for Popular Education “Jesus Rosario Ortega”) has created with the support of the the Community Council “Capitán Chico” of the town of Santa Rosa de Agua, located in the city of Maracaibo, Zulia State, the first Mangrove Community Park called “Land of Dreams.”

130 hectares of coastal forest, accompanied by extensive wetlands are the habitat of a great biodiversity, which has now become green and blue space, which will count with the protection of researchers, environmentalists, biologists, songwriters , artists, fishermen , santa rosa community residents, thus, jointly defend this beautiful mangrove forest.

Within this natural “Avatar”, it was designed an Interpretation Trail for the study of red mangrove. 1.5 kilometers through tunnels of mangrove trees up to 40 meters high and roads that border part of the coast of the Maracaibo Lake . Where in one of the stops of this Trail, called Ecological Field Antonio Morán “Titay” was the viewpoint of the outrages of the pirate Henry Morgan in the XVII century and the XIX century, of the Maracaibo Naval Battle , which finally sealed the independence of Venezuela.

Another icon of this spectacular mangrove park is that since its beginning already has a Ranger, a local fisherman named Deglys Almarza, of indigenous origin, resident of Toas Island, in the entrance of the Venezuelan Gulf , who for more than three decades has been his most ardent advocate.

From this pleasant forest, the magical realism of the writer García Márquez takes validity and we are sure the film director James Cameron for his new Avatar films , still has much to learn.

This sanctuary of flora and fauna, named Community Park “Land of Dreams”, becomes, in the great scientific treasure, recreational and cultural of the aboriginal community “Añu”, the so-called peoples of water, the paraujanos and its 26 stilt villages (build their houses on stilts in the lake, imitating the red mangrove roots) that live in the Basin of the Maracaibo Lake . Invited everyone to know one of the most important ecological heritage of western Venezuela and the world.

By Lenin Cardozo | Mariana Jaramillo | ANCA24 Canada