The Paraguana xeric scrub (NT1313) is an ecoregion in Venezuela to the north and east of Lake Maracaibo and along the coast of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao.

The region holds flora and fauna adapted to the very dry conditions of the coastal dunes and inland areas of bush, scrub, briars and cacti.

It extends along the Caribbean coast of the ABC islands (Leeward Antilles) to the east of the mouth of Lake Maracaibo and includes the Paraguaná Peninsula.

[2] The ecosystem includes the valleys of the Lara–Falcón depression in the coastal plains north of the foothills of the Venezuelan Andes, and the Paraguaná Peninsula.

[3] The long, narrow and low Médanos Isthmus that joins Paraguana to the mainland was formed about 3,000 years ago by tectonic uplift.

A 32 kilometres (20 mi) long ledge of exposed beach rock protects the eastern shore from strong wave action.

The valleys of the Lara–Falcón depression contains ancient Quaternary rocks and recent sediments, and include plains and hills between the Andes and the Venezuelan Coastal Range.

Species include Atriplex pentandra, Heterostachya ritteriana, Salicornia fruticosa, Batis maritima and Sesuvium portulacastrum.

Species include Scaevola plumieri, Portulaca pilosa, Cakile lanceolata, Cyperus planifolius, Sporobolus virginicus, Sporobolus piramydatus, Ipomoea pes-caprae, Euphorbia buxifolia, Spartina patens, Lycium bridgesii, Calotropis procera, Egletes prostrata, Argusia gnaphalodes, Tournefortia volubilis, Opuntia caracasana, Heterostachys ritteriana, Chamaesyce dioica, Chamaesyce mesembryanthemifolia, Croton punctatus, Cenchrus echinatus and Tribulus zeyheri.

Isolated dunes may hold windblown trees and bushes such as Conocarpus erectus, Prosopis juliflora and Vachellia tortuosa.

Common species include Prosopis juliflora, Castela erecta, Stenocereus griseus, Opuntia caracasana, Croton crassifolius, Ipomoea carnea, and Parkinsonia praecox.

[3] The driest parts of the arid and semi-arid areas hold dense or sparse vegetation of stunted thorny bushes and cacti.

Common bush species include Castela erecta, Prosopis juliflora, Parkinsonia praecox, Bourreria cumanensis, Pithecellobium dulce, Vachellia tortuosa, Acacia flexuosa, Stenocereus griseus, Opuntia caribea, Ipomoea carnea, Croton heliotropiifolius, Ipomoea carnea, Indigofera suffruticosa, Tephrosia senna, Aristida venezuelae, Calotropis procera and Capraria biflora.

[3] There are a few freshwater marshes, which hold endemic plant species and provide resting areas for resident and migratory birds.

The Galapagos carpet weed (Sesuvium edmonstonei), formerly thought to be found only on the Galápagos Islands, has been observed on a protected strip of shore grasses and bush between Coro and La Vela.

[9] Other vulnerable species found in the more wooded areas are ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), cougar (Puma concolor) and jaguar (Panthera onca).

A poison-arrow frog species, Mannophryne lamarcai, was discovered in a small area of Socopó Ridge in Falcón at 520 metres (1,710 ft).

It is observed at elevations from 100–1,500 metres (330–4,920 ft), moving seasonally and daily from moist evergreen forest to dry deciduous woodlands, and the surrounding shrubby grasslands and pastures.

The Médanos de Coro National Park theoretically protects a sizeable part of the ecoregion, but in practice has often been invaded by individuals and government agencies.

There is a municipal dump in the park, privately owned facilities for extracting salt and outlets for untreated waste water.