GEOGRAPHY
Only 800km long and some 80km wide at its narrowest point, Panama lies at the base of the Meso-American Isthmus and is the gateway to South America. It is a Spanish speaking country although it has a strong historical link with the United States. It is flanked by the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean.

GEOLOGICAL HISTORY
The Isthmus of Panama is geologically recent. Until 10 million years or so ago, the only land that existed within the 3000 km of open ocean separating the North and South American continents were an arc of volcanic islands. Slowly the land between these islands rose to form a continuous land bridge that finally closed about 3-3.5 million years ago, forming a barrier between the Caribbean and Pacific Oceans and a migratory land bridge for terrestrial species on both continents. The isthmus was therefore responsible for an accelerated rate of diversification of the flora and fauna that previously existed in both of the continents. Panama owes its current levels of biodiversity to this mixing of species that originated in two different regions of the planet.

BIODIVERSITY
The inordinate number of species that are found in Panama is a result of environmental and geological processes that have been acting together for millennia. This high diversity is reflected in Panama’s bird-fauna of which there are approximately 940 species, more than in all Europe or about 10% of the known number of species worldwide.

FOREST
Tropical rainforests are vital to the global ecosystem and to human existence. Fifty percent of ALL biological diversity is found only in tropical rainforests, although these forests themselves are found on only about 4% of the terrestrial surface of the planet. Not only are they evolutionary wonderlands, they harbor important natural reservoirs of genetic diversity that offer a rich source of medicinal plants, high-yield foods, and many other useful forest products. Tropical rainforests play a major role in regulating global weather and maintain regular rainfall, while buffering against floods, droughts, and erosion. They store vast quantities of carbon, while producing a significant amount of the world's oxygen.

Most deforestation and forest degradation in Panama results from road construction, logging, industrial gold mining, and colonization, which leads to clearing for agriculture, pasture land, and fuel wood collection. Of these activities, colonization is responsible for the bulk of forest loss.

Panama’s floral diversity is one of the richest in the world. More than 8,200 species of flowering plants and trees have been described of which more than 1,200 are only found in Panama.

PEOPLE
Panama, which means 'abundance of fish' in one of the native languages, is home to seven native peoples, Kuna, Guaymis, Embera, Wounaan, Bokata, Bribri, and Teribe. The Kuna administer their own autonomous ancestral lands known as Kuna Yala. Most rural communities however are composed of “campesinos” or farmers. This group has a mixture of indigenous and European ancestries. They are mostly poor, subsistence communities who practice slash and burn agriculture to grow crops. Some richer campesinos are cattle ranchers and own large tracts of land, which they deforest to open up for pasture land. The interaction between indigenous people, who generally have protected their forests, and campesinos, who generally have opened up the forest is often delicate, and has flared up into open conflict with claims that campesinos have invaded ancestral lands. This is an ongoing social and environmental issue and there have been several government projects to demarcate legal boundaries.

COMPLICATING FACTORS
There are many different environmental and social challenges that Panama faces. Below we outline some of the major ones. You can click on the topics to learn more.
Slash and Burn
Logging & Mining
Hydroelectric Generating Dams