CA-2017-c

Water, the ecological crisis of tomorrow

CA-2015

Jaguar Corridor Initiative Founded to Link Populations Through Central America

CA-2014-Narcodeforestation

Drug Trafficking Causes  Deforestation

CA-2014-LakeNicaragua

Construction Begins on Lake Nicaragua Canal

CA-2009

Murders of Environmental Activists

CA-2005

Shark Finning

CA-2004b

Resistance to Destructive Mining in El Salvador

CA-2004-Pineda

Francisco Pineda, Environmental Leader Salvadoreno 

CA-2003

Father José Andres Tamayo Leads Grassroots Environmental Movement in Honduras

CA-2003-squirrelmonkey

Promising Numbers for the Vulnerable Red-Backed Squirrel Monkey

CA-2002

Baird’s Tapir Listed as Endangered

CA-1998

Hurricane Mitch

CA-1998b

"Cutting down trees made the hurricane ten times worse than it should have been"

CA-1997

Mesoamerican Biological Corridor Established to Coordinate Regional Conservation & Sustainable Development

CA-1996

Mesoamerican Reef Named a World Heritage Site, Area Still in Danger

CA-1990

Maya Biosphere Reserve Established by UNESCO and Guatemalan Government

CA-1989

Área Conservación de Guanacaste Unifies Threatened Habitats and Conservation Efforts

CA-1988

Jorge Varela & Coastal Mangroves

CA-1987

Hol Chan Marine Reserve

CA-1986

Father Cardenal on the Sandinista Insurrection

CA-1985

Lionfish Invade Caribbean

CA-1983

The Nahual of the Maya, Described by Rigoberta Menchu

CA-1979-IRENA

Nicaraguan Institute of Natural Resources (IRENA) Established

CA-1975

Corcovado National Park Established in Costa Rica

CA-1970-DDT

DDT on Cotton Crops Proliferates

CA-1970s

Deforestation in Nicaragua

CA-1968

DBCP Pesticide Poisoning

CA-1966

Green Sea Turtle Meat Exported to the U.S.

CA-1960

Jaguar Hunting

CA-1952

Extinction of Caribbean Monk Seal

CA-1951-Pesticides

U.S. Testing of Banned Pesticides in Nicaragua

CA-1951

Bermuda Petrels Rediscovered

CA-1950-UFC

Pablo Neruda, "United Fruit Co." 

CA-1949

"The maize impoverishes the earth"

CA-1918

"The Book of the Tropics"

CA-1914

Panama Canal Opens

CA-1913-Bananas

40,000,000 bunches of Bananas Exported to United States Per Year

CA-1910-PanamaDisease

Panama Disease Devastates Banana Monoculture

CA-1906-Roosevelt

Roosevelt Tours the Panama Wilderness

CA-1889-Nicaragua

Nicaragua, Gateway to the Pacific

CA-1880-RubenDario

Poem for Nicaragua by Rubén Darío

CA-1855-Mahogany

Mahogany: King of the Forest

CA-1855-Fauna

Fauna of Honduras

CA-1839-MosquitoCoast

Turtle Fishing On the Mosquito Coast of Honduras

CA-1839-Iguanas

Iguanas and Oysters Thrive in the Mangroves of the Mosquito Coast

CA-1808

Colonial Writer Describes the Natural Abundance of Guatemala

CA-1755

Sugar & Deforestation in Cuba

CA-1650s

Sugar Plantations Fuel Yellow Fever by Improving Conditions for A. aegypti 

CA-1640s

Introduction of Aedes Aegypti & Yellow Fever to Caribbean

CA-1600

From The Incantation for Jaguar Macaw Madness

CA-1566

Diversity of Plants, Flowers and Trees

CA-1566-OfTheBirds

Of the Birds (Possibly Herons and Swallow-Tailed Kites)

CA-1550

From the Popul Vuh

CA-1532

Biological Looting

CA-1529

First European Report of the Gulf of Fonseca

CA-1400

Recycling and Waste Management in pre-Hispanic Tenochtitlan

CA-1300

Pre-Columbian Forest Management and the Myth of "Pristine Wilderness"

CA-1000

Thunderstorm Receives Offerings of Turkey and Iguana Tamales

CA-900

Classic Maya Civilization Collapse Linked to Drought and Deforestation

CA-800

Text from a Mayan Drinking Vessel

CA-0BCE3114

Humans Created From Maize in Maya Creation Myth

CA-0BCE3114-MayanCalendar

First Year of the Maya Calendar 

Americas, Central America & Caribbean

Mesoamerican Rainforest

After centuries of deforestation, five great forest areas remain in the region: the Maya Forest (Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize); the Moskitia (Nicaragua and Honduras); the Indio Maíz-Tortuguero (Nicaragua and Costa Rica); the Talamanca Region (Costa Rica and Panama); and the Darien (Panama and Colombia). However, these forests are not fully protected and continue to be encroached upon.

Pine-oak Forest 

Found at the highest elevations of central America (2,000–5,900 ft) from Southern Mexico to Nicaragua, the pine-oak forests are crucial wintering sites for numerous North American bird species as well as Monarch Butterflies. Although more remote than the tropical forests that surround them, the pine-oak forests of Central America are not widely protected and are threatened in some locations by logging.

Gulf of Fonseca Mangroves

The mangrove forests of the Gulf of Fonseca serve as habitats for waterfowl, nurseries for many fish species, and barriers against coastal erosion. Habitat loss has been severe due to the explosion of aquaculture (particularly shrimp farming) along the Honduran and Nicaraguan coastline since the 1980s.

Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System

Also known as the Great Mayan Reef, this coral marine region stretches for over 700 miles from the coast of Mexico to Honduras. The reef system is home to over 500 species of fish, one of the world’s largest populations of manatee, and many endangered species such as the Hawksbill Turtle. The reef is increasingly under threat by invasive red lionfish, agricultural run-off, tourist damage, and ocean acidification.

Key Habitats

Deforestation

Several centuries of logging, plantation agriculture, human settlement, and ranching have radically reduced the forests that once covered most of the Central American isthmus. Between 2001 and 2010, 5,376 square kilometres (2,076 sq mi) of forest were lost in the region. While portions of remaining forests are officially protected, limited government resources and economic opportunity threaten further deforestation. 

Water Pollution

Central America is home to an abundance of fresh and saltwater habitats, including the Atlantic Ocean’s largest coral reef, estuarine mangrove forests, and hundreds of tropical rivers. Each of these unique biomes is under strain from human development and agricultural runoff; large mining operations and developments such as the Nicaraguan Canal threaten to contaminate or destroy freshwater systems. 

Loss of Biodiversity 

With only 0.5 percent of the world's land surface, Central America is home to more than 7 percent of the planet's biodiversity, largely held in its tropical rainforests. The last few centuries of extractive economic practices have destroyed habitats to the detriment of many species such as the Hawksbill Turtle, the Geoffroy’s spider monkey, and the Mesoamerican Jaguar. 

Climate Change

Research has linked climate change with the increasingly unreliability of agricultural production in Central America, which in turn drives human emigration. It is forecast that some lucrative agricultural products such as coffee will eventually be unable to grow in the region due to increasing drought and more severe tropical storms. The Mesoamerican Reef is currently bleaching from warming temperatures and ocean acidification. 

Most Pressing Issues

Mexico City  – Timeline

Monarch Butterfly – Timeline

Central America & Caribbean