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Countries Appendix CARIBBEAN ISLANDS (19.4%) At one time the islands of the Caribbean were covered with tropical rainforest, but these have been diminished since the arrival of Columbus in 1492. Original hardwood was used to construct ships, homes, and furniture for the early colonists and the rest of the forest was reaped of fuelwood and then burned for plantations. Today, very few of these islands have any forest cover, let alone primary forest. With forest loss, species have disappeared including 35 mammals species. Some of the island nations recognize the importance of forest cover and have moved to protect the remaining forests or begun reforestation programs. In the Bahamas, the Bahamas National Trust has reseeded original hardwoods in Exuma National Park. In addition, the trust is restoring species that were near extinction or have gone extinct in the wild. Islanders have noticed that rain levels are returning to levels measured prior to original deforestation. The government of the Bahamas is working to promote eco-tourism that will bring in foreign currency and investment, yet protect the environment at the same time. A small section (28,000 acres) of rainforest exists in Puerto Rico's El Yunque National Park which contains more than 200 species of plants and the endangered Puerto Rican parrot. The park was established in 1876 (the oldest reserve in the Western Hemisphere) by Spain, who controlled the island at the time. In the 1930's, the island now under U.S. rule, the C.C.C. built a road that divided the forest in half. During the 1970's four landslides destroyed the road which has remained closed since then. Now the Federal Highway Administration is planning to rebuild the road. Environmentalists are protesting the road, which will still be subject to destructive slides and will open the heart of the forest to the introduction of foreign species that will have access from the road. These foreign species could decimate the local forest species. A few days after the plan was unveiled, the National Resources Defense Council filed suit in order to stop its construction. Jamaica has the highest deforestation rate in the tropics according to FAO 1997. Every year forest is cleared for tourism development, fuel and building wood, agricultural plots, and housing. Forest loss is threatening the island's endemic biodiversity and 28 species are listed as endangered. Cuba's natural forests are very rare. The island was more than 90% forested in 1492, but by 1900 forest cover had fallen to 53%. Since 1960, when the forest cover stood at 13.5%, forest area has been increasing due to reforestation. The dry conditions of 1998 resulted in forest fires. Rare species are threatened by collection for export. In the late 1920s forest still covered three-quarters of the Dominican Republic, though by 1981 this had been reduced to roughly 14% from clearing for sugar cane, residential development, and logging for timber. . . . . . For current information I highly recommend trying the CIA and FAO links below. |
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