THE 5 MOST IMPORTANT NATURAL RESOURCES OF PANAMA - ENVIRONMENT - 2025

The natural resources of Panama are gold and copper, mahogany forests, shrimp farming, hydroelectric power. Panama is located in Central America, it is located in the center of the Western Hemisphere, between the following coordinates 7º12'07 ″ and 9º38'46 ″ of North Latitude and 77º09'24 ″ and 83º03'07 ″ of West Longitude, with an average elevation 360 meters above sea level.

Its lowest point is the Pacific Ocean at 0 meters above sea level and its highest point is the Baru volcano at 3,475 meters above sea level; It limits to the north with Costa Rica, to the south with Colombia, to the west with the Pacific Ocean and to the east with the Caribbean Sea. Its climate is tropical, humid, hot, cloudy, with prolonged rains from May to January and a short dry season that runs from January to May.

Its official name is the Republic of Panama, its capital is the city of Panama and it is divided into 10 provinces and 5 regions. The total area is 75,420km ², of which 74,340 km ² are land and 1,080 km ² of water, it has a maritime territory of 12 mn; 30% of its land is used for agriculture, while 43.6% is forest, the remaining 25.6% is urban. The country has a geographic wonder called the isthmus.

About three million years ago the Isthmus of Panama formed the Americas, forming a land bridge. This event brought together Central and South America (Leigh, et. Al., 2014). The isthmus is also a maritime barrier that divides the Pacific Ocean from the Caribbean Sea (Woodring, 1966; Vermeji, 1978; Leigh, et. Al., 2014).

Currently the isthmus comprises 2,800 communities. Most of the settlers are established in the Antón district, southeast of the Panama Canal.

Its vegetation consists of rain forests, dry forests and savanna. Livestock is present to the west of the isthmus in the savanna area. Rice cultivation is intensifying in the south of the country, while mahogany harvesting is on the Pacific side.

The Panama canal

The Panama Canal is an 80 km navigation route between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans that crosses the Isthmus of Panama. It is considered one of the most important and iconic engineering projects of the 20th century, making it possible to navigate between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans and becoming one of the most important trade routes in the world (Lasso, 2015).

In 1903 the agreements between the United States and Panama began for the construction of the canal, the independence of Panama towards Colombia and the sale of the land on which the construction of the canal would take place to the United States, remaining as private property of the Americans. This agreement was diluted in 1977 when the US ceded the rights and free sovereignty of the canal to the government of Panama.

Among the main natural resources of Panama are: copper, mahogany forest, shrimp farming and hydroelectric power generation.

The gold and copper of Panama

It currently has a gold mine in operation, a copper mine under construction both in the province of Colón and two gold deposits in the development phase, its export contributes 1.8% of the nation's GDP.

Mahogany forests

In 1998, 54% of the Panama Canal watershed were mahogany forests and 43% were grass or scrub (Sautu, et. Al., 2006). The largest blocks of forest remain on the more humid Caribbean side of the isthmus..

Most or all of the forests have an age range between 80-100 years; the forest has been subjected to significant disturbances in the last 7000 years associated with indigenous American agricultural systems, the colonization and settlement of Spaniards, and the construction of the Canal (Condit, et. al., 2001; Sautu; et. al., 2006); The general structure of the forest is very similar, except for small areas of mangroves, freshwater swamps, and mountain peaks (Sautu, et. Al., 2006).

Shrimp farming

In 1988 in Panama 2,500 hectares were destined for the cultivation of semi-intensive shrimp, obtaining a production of 300 - 2000 kg / ha / year (Bailey, 1988).

The species that is mostly cultivated is the giant Malaysian shrimp (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) and two native species (Penaeus vannamei and Penaeus stylirostris), they are made mono and polycultured, their development is through private companies (Santamaría, 1992).

Two of the great limitations that Panamanians are faced with for the artisanal practice of beekeeping is that large companies make their property mangroves and places suitable for beekeeping, providing them with low-ranking jobs in which they receive very poor monetary income.

Another aspect is chemical fertilizers that contain toxicity used in intensive agriculture and whose waste is sometimes thrown into the sea, rivers, streams and other aquatic sources which cause water pollution (Bailey, 1988).

Hydroelectric power generation

Panama's electricity consumption is 1,735 kWh per capita, double what Central Americans consume per capita (848 kWh / capita) and its demand is growing by 4.97% per year in the period from 2002 to 2012 (ETESA Empresa de Electric Transmission, 2009a, 2009b; McPherson & Karney, 2014). 63% of the total energy is generated by hydroelectric plants.

The electricity generation industry in Panama is open to different foreign investors, this industry has been growing rapidly from 2008 to 2012 of which there is a record (McPherson & Karney, 2014).

Panama is a recently new country, the result of the disagreements of Colombian politicians; with great natural resources that have been used intensively.

Despite that, he has managed to get ahead through the hard work of his people since despite his recent existence, the world has heard of him not only because of his wonderful nature but also because of his position in the classification of exporters, obtaining in past years the first places in export of gold and shrimp. The hope of creating a country without barriers and self-sustaining is the reflection that the people of Panama transmit to the world.

References

1. Platt, RS (1938). Items in the Regional Geography of Panama. Annals Of The Association Of American Geographers, 28 (1), 13-36.
2. Leigh, E., O'Dea, A., Vermeij, G. (2014). Historical biogeography of the Isthmus of Panama. Biological reviews, vol. 89, pp. 148-172.
3. Lasso, M. (2015). A canal without a zone: Conflicting representations of the Panama Canal. Journal of Latin American Geography, 14 (3).
4. Bailey, C. (1988). The social consequences of tropical shrimp mariculture development. Ocean & Shoreline Management, vol.11, pp. 31 - 44.
5. (1992). Nutrition and feeding of aquaculture in Latin America and the Caribbean. Retrieved on December 23, 2016 from the FAO site. From fao.org.

Portion of territory, smaller than a region, which is considered homogeneous due to various factors, such as natural conditions or the persistence of historical demarcations.

Nautical miles.

Elongated strip of land that joins two different parts of a continent.

Millions of years

Gross domestic product.