Jeannette Kawas National Park ( Spanish : Parque Nacional Jeannette Kawas ) is a national park located in the municipality of Tela , on the northern Caribbean coast of the Atlántida department of Honduras , established on 4 November 1994. The park covers an area of 781.62 square kilometres and has an altitude of 900 metres. The park was created and is managed by the PROLANSATE foundation ( pro tection of Lan cetilla, Punta Sal and Te xiguat ).
6-463: The park was established on 4 November 1994, originally named Punta Sal National Park. It was created and is managed by the PROLANSATE foundation ( pro tection of Lan cetilla, Punta Sal and Te xiguat). Its name was changed to Jeannette Kawas National Park in honor of Jeannette Kawas , an environmental activist and PROLANSATE president who was murdered on February 6, 1995 for her work trying to keep
12-470: Is made up of varied marine, terrestrial and wetlands ecosystems with a large number of species. These ecosystems include beaches, tropical forests , inundated forests, mangrove forests, lagoons and rivers. Jeannette Kawas Blanca Jeannette Kawas Fernández (16 January 1946 – 6 February 1995) was a Honduran Palestinian environmental activist known for her role in saving more than 400 species of flora and fauna. Kawas started her studies at
18-570: The Miguel Paz Barahona School and earned her title of Expert Accountant and Certified Public Accountant in 1967, after which she began working in financial institutions during the 1970s. Between 1977 and 1979 she met and married Jim Watt, giving birth to two children, Damaris and Jaime. In the early 1980s she moved with her children to the city of New Orleans , where she studied computation, obtaining various certificates, awards, and citations for her achievement and academic excellence. In
24-669: The early 1990s she began working at the Honduran Ecology Association . Her activities and the progress made to preserve 449 plant species, diversity of flora and fauna, coastal lagoons, rocky outcrops, swamps, mangroves, rocky shores, sandy beaches, and rainforest located in a coastal strip of 40 kilometers, were an obstacle to business projects. On February 6, 1995 around 7:45 PM, Kawas was shot by two unidentified suspects at her house in Barrio El Centro in Tela, Atlántida . Among
30-715: The murder suspects were Colonel Mario Amaya (known as Tigre Amaya), who reportedly met with sergeant Ismael Perdomo and Mario Pineda (a.k.a. Chapin) at the police headquarters in Tela. Since there was no more interest on the Honduran justice system's part in resolving this crime, on January 13, 2003, the Team of Reflection, Research and Communication (ERIC) of the Society of Jesus and the Centre for International Justice (CEJIL) sent three individual requests to
36-639: The palm plantations out of the park. Jeannette Kawas National Park is part of the Ramsar Convention List of Wetlands of International Importance and was designated as such on March 28, 1995. The park is located in the municipality of Tela , on the northern Caribbean coast of the Atlántida department of Honduras . Located at 15º51'N 087º40'W between longitudes 87º29' and 87º52' west and latitudes 15º42' and 16º00'. It covers an area of 781.62 square kilometres and has an altitude of 900 metres. The park
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