BIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE
Volcanoes, snow-covered mountains, deserts, coastal plains, and unique riverless limestone plateaux are only some of its remarkable features. Large rift and volcanic lakes, serpentine river systems, oceans, lagoons and estuaries have all contributed to the region's natural wealth and ecological complexity. Forests in the Greater Caribbean vary from lowland tropical evergreen and thorn, to highland cloud and coniferous. In some areas of the mainland and islands, pine savannahs give way to cactus shrub land. Three key habitats coral reefs, seagrass meadows, and mangrove forests are crucial in sustaining the high biodiversity of tropical marine ecosystems in the region. Major coral reef formations are found throughout. The wider Caribbean accounts for 13 per cent of the world's coral reefs. Many of its islands are fringed by extensive underwater seagrass beds and mangrove forests. Mexico has the highest reptile diversity in the world. Thirty per cent of its terrestrial vertebrates are endemic. In the Caribbean islands, about a third of plant life and terrestrial vertebrates are also endemic. The region contains at least 70 species of corals. The Pacific coastal areas of the Greater Caribbean countries account for some of the world's prime sites for tropical seagrass. Unique to the region is the Guiana Shield, one of the earliest plant colonies in South America. The Greater Caribbean is the main transit and wintering area for most of North America's migratory birds. Mexico alone shelters over 50 per cent of all birds migrating from the United States and Canada. A quarter of Costa Rica's bird life comprises non-nesting migrants. Other migratory species such as butterflies, fish, whales, bats, and sea turtles also frequent the region. Large breeding populations of grey whales are found off Baja California. Humpback whales in the western North Atlantic breed and calve along the Silver Banks, off the shore of the Dominican Republic. In addition seven of the eight species of sea turtles nest and feed here. Today development projects in the region threaten the Greater Caribbean's ecosystems and wildlife. These forces endanger not only unique habitats, but also local communities who rely on these natural resources for a living. Expansion of agricultural land has resulted in massive deforestation throughout the region. Remnant forest habitats are converted to monocultural agro-ecosystems to include banana, citrus, and coffee plantations. They are also used to raise cattle. Uncontrolled timber extraction has also depleted the region's forest cover. Decades of civil war has displaced substantial populations in some Central American countries. The future of remaining wildlands will depend largely on the direction resettlement policies take. The populations of Mexico and the Caribbean are largely urban-centred. But more than half of Central America is still rural, although migration from the countryside to urban areas is on the rise. In the coastal regions, uncontrolled tourism is threatening key natural habitats. Although commercial diving companies have taken measures to protect many of the coral reefs, these are being irreversibly damaged by souvenir-hunters and the anchors of large cruise ships and private yachts. The tourist trade has certainly not helped the poor waste-treatment facilities in the over-populated islands of the Caribbean (average pop. 100 per km2). Untreated sewage from homes and hotels stunts and sometimes kills coral reefs, causing beach erosion. Pollution is also threatening fisheries and tourism, the two most important foreign-exchange earners. Other problems include oil spills, industrial wastes, soil erosion, and pesticides and fertilizers from coastal farms. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Caribbean Sea now ranks among the world's most polluted and endangered seas. In the Eastern Caribbean unregulated sand mining has damaged the coastal areas. Extraction of large sand pits has accelerated beach erosion and led to the loss of coastal vegetation, destroyed turtle nesting sites, depleted wildlife habitat, and harmed a key tourist attraction. Destruction of coastal mangrove forests has taken a similar toll. The decline and even extinction of certain types of fish, wildlife, and plant resources can be directly linked to the over-exploitation of natural resources. Populations of lobster, shrimp, conch, sea turtles, and reef fishes are in steep decline. In other places, unnecessary cutting of mahogany, cedar, pine, and other high-grade tree species in some forests has radically transformed the forest structure. There is growing concern over the impact on the environment of changes in land-ownership in certain countries. In Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Belize, and Honduras, indigenous groups are demanding traditional land rights. The impact of changes in land-tenure systems will depend largely on the availability of technical expertise in land management and economic incentives aimed at conservation. In many countries, debt burden and social inequity will be major constraints on the road to conservation. There are fears that excessive reliance on free-market forces could lead to unsustainable development schemes.
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Copyright 1996, The World Wide Fund For Nature