Central America & The Caribbean Today Ch. 6 Section 1 Central America & The Caribbean Today

THE IMPACT OF TOURISM Tourism or the business of travel, is an important source of income for Central America & the Caribbean Islands. With more than 20 million people visiting a year, the environment is damaged. Tourists use a great deal of electricity and consume large amounts of food and water. Resulting in shortages for the locals. Resorts and cruise ships release pollution into the environment, threating the ecosystem.

THE IMPACT OF TOURISM Organizations such as the United Nations seek to increase environment protection. However local governments are resistant due to the importance of incoming tourist. Cruise lines are beginning to use recyclable materials and conserve fuel in effort to continue businesses without further harming the environment.

CARIBBEAN FOOD Since the Columbian Exchange, new influences continued to add to the region’s diet. Foods from the natives and from Europe, Africa, and Asia have fused into a rich cooking tradition. The basic foods include rice, beans, yams, peppers and avocado. Poultry and Fish Since the 1990s, fast food restaurants have arrived in the region, adding modern foods to the region.

CARIBBEAN MUSIC Native cultures used wind instruments & drums in their music. European colonists brought stringed instruments to the islands. Calypso began as folk music, uses simple rhythms & local languages to tell stories. Soca, developed in the 1970s, is a mixture of calypso and East Indian music. Afro-Cuban styles combined with jazz created salsa. Some other well-known Caribbean styles are Dominican Republican merengue and Jamaican ska & reggae.

THE PANAMA CANAL After declaring for independence in 1903, Panama signed a treaty that gave the U.S. control of the Panama Canal Zone, the area where the canal would be built. Many obstacles faced the builders such as diseases and tough terrain. The canal took 10 years to finish and resulted in more than 20,000 deaths. The canal shortened a ships travel from San Francisco to New York by 6,000 miles.

THE PANAMA CANAL In 1999, Panama was granted complete control of the canal from the U.S. In 2014, Panama finished expanding the canal.

Ch. 6 Section 2 Central America & The Caribbean Today

COSTA RICA Since 1949, Costa Rica has never had an army. Without political conflict , Costa Rica has had the opportunity to create a stable economy. Tourism is the country’s greatest source of income, provides jobs to more than 50% of population. However, the poverty rate has remained between 15% to 20%. Costa Rica joined other Central American countries in a free trade agreement with the U.S. in 2009.

NICARAGUA Unlike Costa Rica, Nicaragua has had an unstable government since it independence from Spain in 1821. The instability includes dictatorships and civil wars that lasted through the 1990’s. A major hurricane in 1998 destroyed Nicaragua’s infrastructure that furthered its unstableness. The country faces severe poverty and building its economy. In 2005, Nicaragua began to receive funds from the U.S.

HAITI In the 1700’s the colony was the richest in the region, now Haiti is the poorest in the region. In the 20th century, political conflict and outbreaks of disease kept tourist away, making it difficult for Haiti to grow economically. Human Development Index (HDI) compares quality of life in different countries. Countries with low HDI, such as Haiti, are often less healthy, less educated, and poorer than people in countries with a high HDI.

FEEDING CENTRAL AMERICA Natural disasters, drought, human activity, and climate change has negatively impacted food supply. Childhood malnutrition, or lack of healthy food in the diet, is one of the most serious effects of food shortages in Central America. Most experts believe that the best way to improve food security is to increase each country’s own crop production. Education is another way to improve food security in Central America.

MIGRATION AND THE CARIBBEAN The collapse of major businesses has pushed workers out of rural areas into cities to find work. Two-thirds of the population now lives in cities that resulted in overcrowding. Push-pull factors such as political conflict, has played a part in workers leaving for other countries. Most workers who find work in another country send money back to their families in the form of remittances, money that sent to a person in another place.

CONSERVING THE RAIN FOREST The rain forest of Central America and the Caribbean draw a large number of travelers every year. However this can damage or even destroy the environment. The rain forest is an important animal habitat, a natural home or environment for certain species. Ecotourism is a way of visiting natural areas that conservers the resources of the region. The purpose of this is to allow visitors to experience an environment in its most natural form without harming or destroying it.