The Natural resources of Panama Are gold and copper, mahogany forests, shrimp farming, hydroelectric power
Panama is located in Central America, located in the center of the Western Hemisphere, between the following coordinates: 7º12'07"and 9º38'46"of Latitude Norte and 77º09'24"and 83º03'07"of Longitude West, with a Average elevation of 360 meters.
Its lowest point is the Pacific Ocean to 0 msnm and its highest point is the volcano Baru of 3,475 msnm; It borders on the north with Costa Rica, on the south with Colombia, on the west with the Pacific Ocean and on the east with the Caribbean Sea. Its climate is tropical, humid, hot, cloudy, with prolonged rainfall from May to January and a short dry season from January to May.
Its official name is: Republic of Panama, its capital is the city of Panama and it is divided in 10 provinces and 5 counties [1] ; The total area is 75,420km 2 , Of which 74,340 km 2 Are land and 1,080 km 2 Of water, has a maritime territory of 12 mn [2] ; 30% of their land is devoted to agriculture, while 43.6% is forest, the remaining 25.6% is urban. The country has a geographic wonder called itsmo [3] .
About three Ma ago [4] The Isthmus of Panama formed the Americas forming a terrestrial bridge. This event united 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., ).
At present the isthmus comprises 2,800 communities. Most of the settlers are located in the Antón district, southeast of the Panama Canal.
Its vegetation consists of rainforests, dry forests and savannah. Livestock is present west of the isthmus in the savanna area, rice cultivation intensifies in the south of the country, mahogany exploitation is located on the Pacific side of the eastern mountains of the canal zone more commonly in Areas of moderate rains (Platt, 1938).
The Panama canal
The Panama Canal is an 80-km navigation route between the oceans that crosses the Isthmus of Panama; Considered one of the most important and iconic engineering projects of the 20th century, making navigation between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans possible and becoming one of the most important trade routes in the world (Lasso, 2015).
In 1903, the agreements between the United States and Panama were initiated for the construction of the canal, Panama's independence from Colombia, and the sale of the land on which the canal would be constructed to the United States. This agreement was diluted in 1977 when the US ceded the rights and free sovereignty of the canal to the government of Panama.
Among Panama's main natural resources are: copper, mahogany forest, shrimp farming and hydropower generation.
Panama's gold and copper
It currently has a gold mine in operation, a copper mine under construction both in the province of Colon and two gold deposits in the development phase, its export contributes 1.8% of GDP [5] Of the nation.
Mahogany forests
In 1998, 54% of the Panama Canal Watershed were mahogany forests and 43% were grasslands or thickets (Sautu, et al., 2006). The largest forest blocks remain on the wettest side of the Caribbean Isthmus .
Most or all of the forests have a range of ages ranging from 80-100 years; The forest has been subject to major disturbances in the last 7000 years associated with Native American agricultural systems, colonization and settlement of Spaniards, and the construction of the Canal (Condit, et al., 2001; Sautu et al., 2006 ); The overall structure of the forest is very similar, except for small areas of mangrove swamps, freshwater marshes and mountain peaks (Sautu, et al., 2006).
Shrimp farming
In the year 1988 in Panama, 2,500 hectares were used for the cultivation of semi-intensive shrimp, obtaining a production of 300-2000 kg / ha / year (Bailey, 1988).
The species most commonly grown is the giant shrimp from Malaysia ( Macrobrachium rosenbergii ) And two native species ( Penaeus vannamei Y Penaeus stylirostris) , They are made mono and polycultures, their development is through private companies (Santamaría, 1992).
Two of the major constraints faced by Panamanians in the practice of beekeeping are that large enterprises make mangroves and apiculture-friendly properties, providing low-income jobs in which they receive very poor monetary incomes.
Another aspect is chemical fertilizers that contain toxicity used in intensive agriculture and whose wastes are sometimes dumped into the sea, rivers, streams and other aquatic sources which cause water pollution (Bailey, 1988).
Generation of hydroelectric energy
Panama's electricity consumption is 1735 kwh per capita, twice that of Central Americans per capita (848 Kwh / capita) and its demand is growing 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, and the industry has grown rapidly from 2008 to 2012 (McPherson & Karney, 2014).
Panama is a newly new country, fruit of the nonconformities of Colombian politicians; With great natural resources that have been used intensively.
Despite this, he has managed to get ahead through the hard work of his people, and 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 the last years The first places to export 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
- Platt, R. S. (1938). Items in the Regional Geography of Panama. Annals Of The Association Of American Geographers, 28 (1), 13-36.
- Leigh, E., O'Dea, A., Vermeij, G. (2014). Historical biogeography of the Isthmus of Panama. Biological reviews, vol. 89, pp. 148-172.
- Lasso, M. (2015). A channel without a zone: Conflicting representations of the Panama Canal. Journal of Latin American Geography, 14 (3).
- Convention between the United States and the Republic of Panama for the Construction of a Canal to Connect the Waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. (1909). The American Journal of International Law, 3 (2), 130-139. Doi: 10.2307 / 2212143.
- Sautu, A., Baskin, J., Baskin, C., Condit, R. (2006). Studies on the seed biology of 100 native species of trees in a tropical moist tropical forest, Panama, Central America. Forest Ecology and Management, 234, pp. 245-263.
- Bailey, C. (1988). The social consequences of tropical shrimp mariculture development. Ocean & Shoreline Management, vol.11, pp. 31-44.
- (1992). Nutrition and nutrition of aquaculture in Latin America and the Caribbean. Retrieved on December 23, 2016 from the FAO site. From fao.org.
- McPherson, M. & Karney, B. (2014). Long-term scenario alternatives and their implications: LEAP model application of Panama's electricity sector. Energy Policy, vol. 68, pp. 146-157.
[1] Portion of territory, smaller than a region, which is considered homogeneous by various factors, such as natural conditions or the persistence of historical demarcations.
[2] Nautical miles.
[3] Long strip of land that joins two distinct parts of a continent.
[4] Millions of years
[5] Gross domestic product.