Saliñas have a crucial ecological function as an essential part of our watershed
Aruba is one of the driest islands in the Caribbean but can experience extremely heavy rainfall during the rainy season. Flooding is naturally prevented by an intricate system of rooi (seasonal riverbeds) that canalize the water run-off to lower laying saliñas (mudflats). Although saliñas are often erroneously considered worthless as being ‘just a place of mud’ which is sometimes flooded, they are in fact either tidal areas or form part of fresh or brackish water lagoons and wetland systems. Saliñas are extremely productive areas for invertebrates (worms, clams, and other shellfish), attracting an array of wildlife, including (migratory) birdlife, that depend on this source of nutrients and refuge.q
Source: Aruba National Park Foundation
