| Panama | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Location | Central America | ||||||||||||||||||
| National websites | |||||||||||||||||||
| Embassy / Chancery in U.S. | 2862
McGill Terrace, NW, Washington DC 20008
Telephone: (202) 483-1407 |
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| Agencies responsible for biological inventory and conservation | Panama's Audubon Society | ||||||||||||||||||
| Non-governmental organizations concerned with conservation | Unión Mundial de la Conservación
de la Naturaleza (UICN), Centro Agronómico Tropical de Inversiones
y Enseñanzas (CATIE), Fondo del Medio Ambiente Mundial (GEF), Agencia
para el Desarrollo Internacional de
los Estados Unidos (USAID), UNESCO, and AECI |
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| Major Natural Resources | Panama is the bridge between North and South America. Due to its strategic location it is home to many different transitional species between these continents which exist nowhere else. Panama is home to 21 endangered species which are found nowhere else. Panama has more vertibrate species than any other Central American or Caribbean country | ||||||||||||||||||
| Major Environmental and Conservation Issues | The most pressing problems seem to be the abusive use of agrochemicals in agriculture and the overexploitation of hillside lands. Both of these practices lead to a loss of biodiversity, the simplification of ecosystems, and the destruction of the organic layer of the soil which is vital to food production. Panama is currently using agrochemicals at a rate that is 6 times higher than the world average. These concerns, as well as the continued problem of deforestation of precious Panaman rainforest primarialy due to mining, pose the greatest environmental threats to the country. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Statistics | Information Sources | ||||||||||||||||||
| Land area | 75,990 sq km | CIA Factbook | |||||||||||||||||
| Area of forest | 3123 hectares | World Resources | |||||||||||||||||
| Area of wetlands | (Sq. km) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Area of territorial waters | 2,210 sq km | CIA Factbook | |||||||||||||||||
| Population: 2,735,943 | Density: | 36 /Sq km. | |||||||||||||||||
| Area protected (ha) (only areas >1000ha) at all IUCN levels: | 1326 hectares | Fraction of land area protected (%): | 17.56 | World Resources | |||||||||||||||
| Major Protected Areas |
List of Major Protected Areas |
Information Center for the Environment | |||||||||||||||||
| Endemic Species |
|
Panama profile | |||||||||||||||||
| Endangered, Threatened and Vulnerable Species |
|
World Conservation Monitoring Centre - Animal | |||||||||||||||||
| Extinct Species |
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World Conservation Monitoring Centre - Animal | |||||||||||||||||
| Species listed on CITES Appendices | CITES-listed Species Database | ||||||||||||||||||
| Legislation | |||||||||||||||||||
| Laws protecting endangered or threatened species | |||||||||||||||||||
| Laws protecting endangered ecosystems | |||||||||||||||||||
| Signatory to CITES | 8/17/78 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Signatory to Ramsar Wetlands Convention | 1971 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Signatory to Convention on Biological Diversity | 4/17/95 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Signatory to Migratory Bird Treaty | (date) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Member of International Whaling Commission | (date) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Signatory to other international treaties designed to protect or manage biological resources | International Tropical Timber Agreement (ITTA,
Geneva) - 1983, Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of
Wild Animals (CMS, Bonn) - 1979,
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES, Washington)-1973, Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (WHC, Paris) -1972, Convention on the High Seas (Geneva) -1958, Convention on Fishing and Conservation of the Living Resources of the High Seas (Geneva) -1958, United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS, Montego Bay) -1958, International Plant Protection Convention (Rome) -1951, Protocol concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife to the Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region (SPA Protocol, Kingston) - 1990, Convention for the Protection and Development of the Wider Caribbean Region (Cartagena de Indias) -1983, Eastern Pacific Ocean Tuna Fishing Agreement (San José) - 1983, Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and Coastal Area of the South East Pacific (Lima) -1981, Protocol to the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (Washington) -1956, Convention for the Establishment of an Inter American Tropical Tuna Commission (Washington) -1949, International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (IWC, Washington) -1946, Convention on Nature Protection and Wildlife Preservation in the Western Hemisphere (Washington) -1940 |
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| Natural Resource Use | Information Sources | ||||||||||||||||||
| Fisheries | Produces 3.8 metric tons of fish and shellfish annualy. | World Resources | |||||||||||||||||
| Forestry / deforestation | |||||||||||||||||||
| Ecotourism | Projects are currenly underway for construction of new hotels that respect and profit from the untouched nature that surrounds the 50-mile long Panama Canal. | Biodiversity Campain News | |||||||||||||||||
| Trade in wildlife products | |||||||||||||||||||
| Hunting | |||||||||||||||||||
| Other uses of natural resources | |||||||||||||||||||
| Human Impacts on Natural Resources | Information Sources | ||||||||||||||||||
| Air pollution | Has signed the Montreal Protocol for clean air. | Sustainable Development | |||||||||||||||||
| Water pollution | |||||||||||||||||||
| Development activities | Current talks are underway to develop the last section of the Pan-American Highway which would cut through and destroy large sections of the Darien Gap Rainforest. | Pan-American Highway | |||||||||||||||||
| Introduced species | |||||||||||||||||||
| Legislation addressing these issues | |||||||||||||||||||
| Restoration and Reintroduction | Information Sources | ||||||||||||||||||
| Programs for restoration of damaged habitat | |||||||||||||||||||
| Programs for ex situ conservation (captive breeding and reintroduction) of endangered species | |||||||||||||||||||
Return to Endangered Species Protection around the World
Page compiled by Daniel Van Dellen as part of a class project in h90 "The Science of Biodiversity and Conservation" (Peter J. Bryant, Instructor), University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA