Rainforest Awakenings Program Site

Biodiversity

La Amistad/Bocas del Toro International Park (PILA) was created in 1988 by the governments of Panama and Costa Rica and is a World Heritage Site and Biosphere Reserve. It is located in the northwest corner of Panama and extends into Costa Rica, an area that boasts diverse ecosystems covering 2.5 million acres, and contains one of the largest tracks of undisturbed forests in Central America. Panama, smaller than South Carolina, hosts over 900 bird species (more documented bird species than the United States and Canada combined), with 400 of the total bird species found in La Amistad/Bocas del Toro International Park. The terrestrial ecosystems of the park also contains 180 plant species endemic to Bocas del Toro and Panama, over 100 species of mammals including primates, all 5 species of cats found in Panama, 91 species of amphibians including many species of poison dart frogs, and 61 species of reptiles. The marine species are equally abundant including the Atlantic Loggerhead Sea Turtle, Green Turtle, Hawksbill Turtle, and Olive Ridley Sea Turtle. (http://www.bocasdeltoro.com/Panamanationalpark/laamistad/index.htm)

Indigenous Culture

The Ngöbe-Bugle (formerly the Guamyi), who make up over 60 percent of the total indigenous population in Panama, live mainly by subsistence farming in small clusters of family units usually containing five to six basic structures. Several families, mostly extended family members, share a dwelling. Usually there is great distance between groups of Ngobe. The Comarca Ngobe-Bugle is a mountainous region that is difficult to farm. Their main crops are rice, ñame, corn, beans, bananas, plantains, and coffee. Job opportunities are rare in the areas where Ngobe live and most migrate to work on coffee and banana plantations or in the private sector for individuals or small companies, usually doing manual labor. Over half of the total indigenous population of Panama works yet they earn 30% less than non-indigenous Panamanians. 1 in 5 Ngobe do not speak Spanish, which limits their ability to work. Over 30 percent of the Ngobe population is illiterate. 50% of indigenous children suffer from malnutrition, mainly due to lack of potable water and increased pollution due to deforestation and agricultural runoff. Only 50% of indigenous people have access to a potable water source and sanitation services. Most homes are without running water, toilets, or electricity. (World Bank. “Panama Poverty Assessment: Priorities and Strategies for poverty reduction.” (The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. 2000:1-15.URL: http://web.worldbank.org).

The program sites for Rainforest Awakenings contain approximately 60% of the Ngobe-Bugle indigenous, which is estimated at 165,000 people. They were traditionally hunters and gatherers, however on March 7, 1997; the Panamanian government granted the Ngobe-Bugle a comarca (autonomous region). The highest rate of deforestation has occurred in Comarca Ngobe-Bugle, at the rate of 10,000 hectares per year from 1992 to 2000 (ANAM 2003. Informe final de resultados de la cobertura boscosa y uso del suelo de la República de Panamá: 1992–2000. Informe Final. Proyecto OIMT PD 54/98 Rev. 1. Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente and ITTO, Panamá City, Panamá). The government of Panama granted a 25-year mining concession on the comarca Ngobe-Bugle to Panacobre, a Canadian company, despite a decade of protests by the Ngobe people. Poverty and extreme poverty rates are highest among the Ngobe-Bugle due to high fertility rates, illiteracy, malnutrition, unfair wage compensation, language barriers, geographical location, and lack of viable land for farming. (World Bank, Panama: Poverty Assessment: Priorities and Strategies for Poverty Reduction, 1999, URL: http://web.worldbank.org).

Threats to Biodiversity

The major threats to biodiversity are unplanned and rapid tourism development; colonization for cattle ranching, agriculture, and forestry; increased proposals for hydroelectric dams and mining; road expansion; and microclimatic change due to rapid deforestation. (Aparicio, Candanedo, Martinez, and Delgado. “Executive Summary, La Amistad Site Panama”, The Nature Conservancy, 2006). The current deforestation rate for Panama is estimated at 185,329 acres (75,000 hectares) per year.