Environment and Climate Change in Panama Essay - 1521 Words

Environment and Climate Change in Panama Home to vast tropical rainforests, an immense variety of animal and plant species and the seaway that connects the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, Panama relies heavily on all these resources for its economy. However, environmental challenges threaten the sustainability of these assets and therefore create a significant problem for the country. This paper will examine the effect of weather and climate change on Panama coupled with a specific focus on the Panama Canal. It concentrates largely on the effects of deforestation, coupled with the effect of El-Nino, and examines how this has had significant economic and social consequences.†¦show more content†¦Secondly, smoke from forest fires can reduce rainfall and cloud cover can trap moisture, therefore inhibiting the formation of raindrops. The consequences of deforestation can be more severe if coupled with other conditions that contribute to a lack of precipitation. In Panama, deforestation was couple d with the warming effects of regional El-Nino phenomena, resulting in heavy droughts in the country. Especially during the extremely intense El-Nino conditions in 1982-83 and 1997-98, Panama was faced with severe conditions. Drought conditions, due to the double effect of El-Nino and deforestation have a variety of environmental and economic consequences. Primarily, it affects agricultural production, especially of dairy, corn and rice, together with reducing the quality and quantity ofShow MoreRelatedThe impacts of the closure of the panama gateway are inconclusive. There are multiple models that600 Words   |  3 PagesThe impacts of the closure of the panama gateway are inconclusive. There are multiple models that have tried to infer the ocean current patterns that do not agree with each other. There is evidence that the salinity levels in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea changed but it is not certain what caused the alteration. 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