, Research Paper
Costa Rican: population changes and deforestation
Costa Rica has two major forest types that currently cover almost half of the countries life zones, tropical moist and tropical wet. Originally Costa Rica was covered by a 99.8% natural forest and by 1977 was reduced to just 31%. Most of this deforestation had occurred since the 1950?s (Hartshorn, et al.1982). A study done by the Center on Sustainable Development (CIEDES,1998) indicates the rate of deforestation between 1986 and 97 had declined to an average of just 1% a year (Sanchez-Azofeifa, et al. 2000).
A tropical moist forest mainly consists of evergreens and canopy trees, 40 – 50 meters tall with mostly wide crowns. These trees are generally branch less for the first 25-35 meters. The sub canopy trees such as palms trees grow to about 30 meters and are abundant except in lower cooler areas. The under story trees range from 8-20 meters tall and often have long drip tip type leaves. The shrub layer mostly consists of dwarf palms and broad leafed herbs. The ground layer is mostly bare with scattered ferns with some woody lianas and epephyes ( Hartshorn et al. 1982).
The tropical wet forest contains the most forms of life species in Costa Rica. There are two major wet forests in Costa Rica on the northeast and one in the southwest. This type of forest is mainly tall multistatial, evergreens. The canopy trees in these regions are ?45-55 meters tall and with a round umbrella-shaped crowns (Hartshorn et al.1982).? These trees also are brachless the first 30 meters up. The sub canopy trees are generally 30-40 meters tall with round canopies and slender trunks. The twisted and crooked trees of the under canopy are 10 -25 meters tall with conical crowns. The shrub layer is mostly dwarf palms and some broad leaved herbs ranging from 1.5-2.5 meters tall ( Hartshorn et al. 1982).
At the time of the Spanish Conquests, Arch Bishop Thiel estimated that there were about 27,000 Indians in the Costa Rica region, other estimates figured there where about 80,000 by 1563 (Seligson 1980). These indigenous populations were quickly decimated by smallpox measles and tragedies resulting from Spanish expansion (Bolanos 1981, Seligson 1980). Only two decades after Spain discovered Costa Rica the Indian population dropped to 7,000. ? One century later the Indian population had shrunk to 2,000, and in an additional 40 years, to a mere 1,000 Indians (Hartshorn et al. 1982)
After the Spanish conquerors inhabited the lands of Costa Rica destroying Indian cities, enslaving them, and spread their disease, the Indian population was very low ( Acota & LeFrank, 1980). The remaining Indigenous tribes today are restricted to small phisiolographic regions, scattered throughout the country. These tribes are still effected by people seeking natural resources on their lands. There are laws to protect the tribes, but there are also laws that allow miners to do environmental studies on their lands in search of mineral resources. The states allow this testing if it does not effect the tribes directly, but if the state is directly involved with the mining the indigenous tribes can be in danger ( Hartshorn et al. 1982).
The Costa Rican government has taken several steps toward conserving their forest. ? Currently, 29% of Costa Rica?s territory is under some degree of protection? (Sanchez-Azofeifa 1988). There are more than 70 protected sites which include national parks, forest reserve, wildlife refuges, protected zones and biological reserves (Umana and Brandon, 1992). These actions have curbed deforestation, but the deforestation rates around these zones are still high. The problem with these protected sites is that Costa Rican government ? does not have a national environmental policy that integrates all sectors: rather each sector defines it?s own policies and objectives ( Hartshorn et al. 1982).?
The population of Costa Rica in 1950 was 800,875, this increase in population was do to an increase in health standards and an improved mortality rate. The 1970 brought a large decrease in the population rate due to improvements in education, and family planning. ? The average number of children per family decreased from 7.3 in 1960 to 3.5 in 1985 ( Hall et al, 1993). The population is still increasing from other factors such as Nicaraguans seeking better economic conditions in Costa Rica.
The major issue in the clearing of the Costa Rican rain forests has largely to do with major increases in population an the need for land expansion. The government passed laws in the 1970?s that made owning land easy and encouraged the clearing of virgin forests. These laws gave people full legal rights to land if they maintained it for a minimum of 3 years ( Hartshorn et al. 1982). Squatters clear enough land to maintain, and cut a larger boundary strip around the land to claim it.
Work Cited
Baker, Randall. Environmental Management in the Tropics. Boca Raton:
Lewis, 2000.
Clay, W. Jason. Indigenous Peoples and Tropical Forests. Cambridge:
Cultural Survival, Inc. 1988.
Hall, A.S. Charles, et al. Quantifying Sustainable Development. New York:
Academic Press, 2000. (Sanches-Azofeifa, 2000)
Hartshorn, Gary et al. Costa Rica: Country Environmental Profile: A Field Study.
San Jose:Tropical Science Center, 1984. (Seligson, 1980)
Другие работы по теме:
Pros Of Green Revolution Essay Research Paper
With the rapid growth of our global population pouring into the next millennium, we will witness an ever-growing hunger rate around the world. That is unless we call for a revolution on the global
Central America Essay Research Paper Central AmericaThere
Central America Essay, Research Paper Central America There are 26 million people in Central America. Mestizos of mixed white and Indian heritage make up one half of the population. Indians, who make up one fifth, are concentrated in Guatemala. Whites are dominant in Costa Rica, and blacks and mulattos in Panama and the Caribbean coastal plains.
Deforestation Essay Research Paper Deforestation is increasing
Deforestation Essay, Research Paper Deforestation is increasing as a global concern. In recent years deforestation has risen to dangerous levels. This reason is mainly due to the fact that most people have no idea what deforestation is. This lack of education has caused many changes in the global economy.
Marc Anthony Essay Research Paper Marc AnthonyEl
Marc Anthony Essay, Research Paper Marc Anthony El Espanola Hombre Marc Anthony Marc Anthony nac o en septembre 16,1968. Marc nombre es Antonio Marco Muniz. El padre es un Puerto Rican guitarra nombre Felipe Muniz. El fue repujado en el decidido barrio de Harlem, Nueve York. Antonio escucha de dos mundos de mus ca.
Deforestation Essay Research Paper Deforestation Every minute
Deforestation Essay, Research Paper Deforestation Every minute fifty acres of rain forest are destroyed and some twenty five species become extinct , many befor we are even able to study them. Rare plants and flowers that could provide possible cures for Cancer ,Aids and other deadly diseases are lost forever .Thousands of animals and birds are being killed to make way for vast cattle ranches ,buildings and supper highways that are destructive to the environment .
Global Population Essay Research Paper One of
Global Population Essay, Research Paper One of the biggest problems with the world today is our rapidly growing global population. With the current population being at over 6 billion, every second five people are born and two people die
Components Of Population Essay Research Paper
Componen Components of population change are births and deaths, immigrants and emigrants. Fertility and Mortality Fertility is the number of live births in a defined population. It is calculated using two main indices:
Global Warming Deforestation Nuclear Waste And Pollution
Essay, Research Paper Q. Discuss some issue of personal, local, or international concern and its importance to you. Through out my high school year I have researched on many issues and all of the issues are important to me. All of the issues are important to me because in a way all of the problems are connected to each other and one problem leads to another.
Population Essay Research Paper POPULATIONThroughout history the
Population Essay, Research Paper POPULATION Throughout history, the thought of overpopulation has always concerned scientists. There have been quite a few theories about what would happen to the world if the population were to grow to a size breaking earth s carrying capacity. Of these theories, the two most probable are the Malthusian Theory and the Demographic Transition Theory.
Jurassic Park Essay Research Paper The story
Jurassic Park Essay, Research Paper The story Jurassic Park, by Michael Crichton takes place on a small island near Costa Rica, it s about a park full of dinosaurs created by Dr. Hammond. The
Example Of Scientifi Method Essay Research Paper
Scientific Method ? Deforestation in Rhondonia, Brazil Observation: In one of the major regions of deforestation, the province of Rhondonia, Brazil, the rainfall has been severely and or completely stopped.
Tree Free Paper Essay Research Paper Eventually
Tree Free Paper Essay, Research Paper Eventually, at the current rate of deforestation, there will be no trees. We must look for alternatives to wood fibers. I for one would not like see the day that money hungry business man cut down the last tree for such a now useless object such as paper. Nowadays, with computers, there is no need for paper other than for printing.
Costa Sakellariou Essay Research Paper Costa Sakellariou
Costa Sakellariou Essay, Research Paper Costa Sakellariou Visual art can definitely be seen as a language. With every artist there is always some sort of meaning that they are trying to convey to the viewers of their work. The means of how they deliver that message is the language in which their work uses. In Costa Sakellariou?s work I especially felt there was some sort of language being spoken.
Destruction Of The Rain Forest Essay Research
Paper Two Causes of the Destruction of the Rain Forest The tropical rain forests of the world are being destroyed. If we don’t restrain or take action towards the destruction, there is no telling what will happen to the world. Most scientists have predicted at that the rate we are going there will be no rain forests left by the year 2050.
Narrative Essay Research Paper NarrativeI was born
Narrative Essay, Research Paper Narrative I was born in San Jose, Costa Rica, and moved to California when I was very young. Before I moved to California my dad traveled back and forth for 2 or 3 yrs from California and back to Costa Rica. He spent most of his time working in the Fresno area, in the cities of Tulare, and Visalia.
Costa Rica Essay Research Paper Costa Rica
Costa Rica Essay, Research Paper Costa Rica, a country of Central America, covers an area of 19,730 square miles. The capital is San Jos?. Extending from northwest to southeast, Costa Rica is bounded on the north by Nicaragua, along its 185-mile northeastern coastline by the Caribbean Sea, on the southeast by Panama, and along its 630-mile southwestern coastline by the Pacific Ocean.
Costa Rica Essay Research Paper Costa RicaKnown
Costa Rica Essay, Research Paper Costa Rica Known for it s natural beauty and gracious people is a small country located in Central America. Located between the countries of Nicaragua and Panama, bordered by both the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea is a true gem, the Republic of Costa Rica. Located ten degrees north of the equator Costa Rica is in the tropics and even though it is a small country it has a very diverse landscape and a variety of weather as well.
Fuel Wood Availability In Africa Essay Research
Paper Fuel wood Availability in Africa Throughout Africa there is various regional variations of fuel wood availability. In the chart shown for this essay, it breaks up Africa into 4 different areas of fuel wood amounts. Mostly on the northern area of Africa there is few natural fuel wood resources. And also near the southern areas of Africa there is Fuel wood scarcity because of other little deserts.
SALMON Essay Research Paper Salmon
SALMON Essay, Research Paper Salmon They are naturally distributed throughout most of the northern hemisphere from the temperate zone to beyond the Arctic circle. Now is limited in a few rivers in eastern Maine and Canada. Pollution, impassable dams near the mouths of river, over fishing, destruction of spawning grounds through deforestation, and loss of young in power plant turbines have all contributed to the loss of this fish.
Environmental Pollution Essay Research Paper ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTIONOur
Environmental Pollution Essay, Research Paper ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION Our environment is affected by our daily actions. The earth is plagued with land, air and water pollution. Some of the problems we face on earth are: deforestation, nuclear waste, acid rain, global warming, overpopulation and some animals are endangered.
Deforestation Essay Research Paper Deforestation
Deforestation Essay, Research Paper Deforestation Deforestation is the act of cutting down and clearing out trees in large amounts. This is occurring in many areas of the world, specifically in the rain forests of South America and Africa. It is very profitable to be in the tree business and that is the reason many people seek to be hired in this area of business rather then any other.
Our Enviorment Essay Research Paper Our EnvironmentThe
Our Enviorment Essay, Research Paper Our Environment The earth?s population is growing every day. ?Every second, on average, five children are born somewhere on the earth.? This is a growing rate of 10,000 new births per hour, 90 million per year. The world population is currently 5.8 billion. The current growth rate is 1.7%, if this continues the population will double in 41 years.
Costa Rica Essay Research Paper Costa Ricaby
Costa Rica Essay, Research Paper Costa Rica by Brandon Noll Costa Rica’s official language is Spanish. And nearly all Costa Ricans speak Spanish, but many blacks still speak a Jamaican dialect (local form) of English. About per
Effects Of Deforestation Essay Research Paper Effects
Effects Of Deforestation Essay, Research Paper Effects of Deforestation The subject of deforestation and the effects that it has on the environment have been heavily debated for a long time; particularly over the
Biology Work Requirement 3 Essay Research Paper
Ecological issue: Deforestation, logging Issues: + Effects wildlife habitats biodiversity + Increases soil degradation erosion. + Carbon storage – leads to more Carbon dioxide in atmosphere – leads to global warming
The Rich Port Essay Research Paper Looking
The Rich Port Essay, Research Paper Looking over the website, www.about I found out many interesting facts about the country and commonwealth of Puerto Rico. For one, Spanish and English are the official languages. English is spoken by about 1/4 of the population with limited capabilities. English is required in all federal matters; it is also spoken in all major tourist areas and locations.
Causes For Deforestation Essay Research Paper Causes
Causes For Deforestation Essay, Research Paper Causes for Deforestation The Rainforests are being destroyed, daily at alarming rates. The deforestation is caused by three main factors: Commercial Logging, Non-commercial Farming Operations and Commercial Agricultural Development, there are also many minor factors, but the biggest of these is Cocaine production.
Nicaragua 2 Essay Research Paper NICARAGUANicaragua is
Nicaragua 2 Essay, Research Paper NICARAGUA Nicaragua is a country located in Central America, south of Honduras and North of Costa Rica. Its region is about 130,000 square kilometers (about 50,193-sq. mi.). The largest city, which is the capital, is Managua.
Jurrasic Park Essay Research Paper Jurassic Park
Jurrasic Park Essay, Research Paper Jurassic Park Jurassic Park takes place on an Island off the Coast of Costa Rica which is owned by a multimillionaire, John Hammond. On this island he has set up a genetical engineering facility which permits him and his scientist to create dinosaur from blood extracted from prehistoric mosquitos, that have been preserved in amber.