Photo: Save the Waves Coalition
Oriente Salvaje, El Salvador, is officially the 13th World Surfing Reserve site. According to a press release from surfing nonprofit Save The Waves, a dedication last week officially completed a process that began in April 2024, when the region was provisionally nominated for the distinction.
Of the 12 waves dotting Oriente Salvaje’s 12 miles of coastline, the best known are popular point breaks Las Flores and Punta Mango. As a result, the Salvadorean government’s tourism sector has targeted the region as “Surf City 2,” according to Save the Waves. The newly minted World Surfing Reserve aims to balance this ongoing development pressure with safeguarding the region’s unique and biologically diverse coastline. “This is the beginning of a collaborative partnership to ensure Oriente Salvaje’s waves and precious coastline remain intact,” said Rodrigo Barraza, President of ADETCO and co-owner of Las Flores Resort. “The community and the Local Stewardship Council are committed to the vision of creating more opportunities for conservation, establishing sustainability standards, and creating tools, pathways and plans that lead to sustainable development.”
“This geography is unique on the Pacific slope of Northern Central America,” added Sarah Otterstrom, Executive Director of Paso Pacifico. “It hosts mature and secondary forests bordering biodiverse and wave-forming rocky reefs. Threatened and endangered wildlife like hawksbill sea turtles, Salvadorean spider monkeys, and Pacific mahogany trees depend on this area. The vision set forth through the World Surfing Reserve designation will support its sustainable management into the future.”
A dedication ceremony was held on Saturday, November 16, with speeches, a plaque unveiling and ceremonial paddle-out. The event was attended by members of the local surfing community and Stewardship Council, as well as representatives of the Municipal governments of San Miguel and Usulutan, the Environmental Investment Fund of El Salvador (FIAES), Catholic Relief Services, and Inter-American Development Bank.
