Watch Earth Matters
on CNN and
CNN International.
|
Panamanian paradise threatened by progress
December 6, 1997
These fisherman are Guaymie Indians, divers looking for lobsters
Many still depend on these forests, rivers and lagoons for survival
But natural resources are now threatened by major changes here
Web posted at: 11:45 p.m. EST (0445 GMT)From Correspondent Gary Strieker
BOCAS DEL TORO, Panama (CNN) -- Guaymie Indian fishermen, who ply their trade on the waters off Bocas Del Toro, Panama, say their catches are getting smaller every year -- because there are too many fishermen.
CNN's Gary Strieker reportsScientists say overfishing is just one of the serious problems impacting the balance of nature in Bocas Del Toro, a remote province on the Caribbean coast of western Panama.
Scenes of Bocas del Toro 2.5M/31 sec./320x240
1.2M/31 sec./160x120
QuickTime movieThese forested hills, and especially the lagoons and islands, are know for their unspoiled beauty. Christopher Columbus landed here on one of his later voyages nearly five centuries ago, and people here brag that these islands, more than any other in the Caribbean, still look the same as Columbus found them.
Also the same: Indian peoples who were here long before Columbus, still depending for survival on these forests, rivers and lagoons.
But the natural resources of Bocas Del Toro are now threatened by major changes.
A road will soon, for the first time, connect the region to the rest of Panama, bringing investments in tourism and potentially thousands of new immigrants looking for land and jobs.
Even without new immigrants, the local Indian population along the coast is already growing.
The Guaymie people, seeking employment and better educational opportunities, are cutting down the mangrove forests to make way for crowded settlements. What they also get is pollution and disease.
But in this, the poorest region of Panama, there are no more jobs. Banana growers say they cannot absorb any more labor, so desperate young men are turning to fishing to make a living.
And increasing the number of fishermen exacerbates the problem of ever-decreasing numbers of fish.
Other Guaymie are clear-cutting forested land in the hills to plant crops. Because of the deforestation, streams and rivers carry loads of sediment into coastal lagoons, smothering coral reefs that are vital for marine life.
"It's not a matter now of saving some fish," says Hector Guzman of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. "It's just that the entire productivity of the system is going to collapse."
If the fishing industry does collapse, it could leave the Guaymie without their livelihood. And without the reefs or the fish or the forests, tourism, too, would be negatively impacted.
So the pressing question here is whether, as the Guaymie try to pull themselves out of poverty, it will also be possible to protect the natural resources of this beautiful, remote corner of the world.
Related site:
Note: Pages will open in a new browser windowExternal sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.
|
Sound off on our message boards You said it... |
|
© 1997 Cable News Network, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.