Despite being a small surface country, Guatemala presents a great diversity of ecosystems. In fact, if we talk about Ranking, it is in the first position of Central America countries in terms of diversity of ecoregions, with a total of 14 ecoregions. Incredible!. This considerable variety of environments gives rise to a wide variety of natural resources, that is, resources that come from nature and that have some kind of use for human.
From what was mentioned in the previous paragraph, from Ecology Verde we want to deepen the Guatemala natural resourcesnot from an extractivist approach, but rather with the aim of knowing what are the natural resources of this wonderful country and what is its current state of conservation to protect them in the future.
Floor
If you wonder what the most important natural resource in Guatemalapossibly the ground. The Variety of fertile soils that exist in Guatemala allows the Cultivation of many plant species that support the feeding of the Guatemalan people. There is mainly corn, sugar cane, rice, tomato, potatoes, citrus, bananas, coffee, cocoa and more. However, it is worth mentioning that Guatemalan soil suffers a certain degree of deterioration and is mostly due to the use of forest land for agricultural activities.
We recommend reading these other posts about the importance of soils and what is the degradation of the soil.
Water resource
Another of Guatemala’s main resources is water resource. This country has a great water wealth which includes approximately 23 lakes, 119 lagoons and numerous rivers that are divided into two aspects: that of the Pacific Ocean and that of the Atlantic Ocean. Despite the great wealth of this resource, drinking water does not reach the entire Guatemalan population in growth, since the contamination of rivers affects the availability of drinking water and, in addition, the lack of infrastructure also makes access to drinking water difficult.
Forest resource
Forests are undoubtedly one of the Natural wealth of Guatemala. The Guatemalan native forests They cover a large surface of the country and are composed, above all, of landed species, conifers and mangroves.
They provide very important ecosystem services, such as carbon capture from the atmosphere, reduction of soil erosion, regulation of extreme events such as floods. In addition to timber products, they also provide medicinal and food species. However, if we ask ourselves what are the Natural Resources most exploited in Guatemalasurely it is the forest resource. Forests suffer high deforestation rates and are also exposed to intentional fires. Here you can read about the consequences of deforestation.
Fisheries resources
Within the huge coastal marine resourcewe can mention the fishing resource. In particular, Guatemalan aquaculture is given to the south of the country, where the most sought after species are mostly Shrimp, prawns and squid. To a lesser extent, some species of fresh water and shrimp are also exploited.
MINING RESOURCES
It is estimated that Guatemala presents geological conditions conducive to the development of an economically significant mining industry. Despite this, this industry is not very exploited. The mining activity in this country is developed mainly in non -metallic mineralsamong them: plaster, sand, clay, marble, limestone, gravel and more. There are also industries that base their activities on Metal minerals As nickel, gold, silver and copper.
We recommend you read this other sidewalk of mineral resources: what are, classification, examples and importance.
Oil resource
Within the Non -renewable resources from Guatemala We can mention the oil resource. In itself, Guatemala has Three oil reserves: Petén Norte, Petén South and Pacific Reserve, located respectively in the north, central and south of the country. It is estimated that the oil extracted from these areas has a good quality, however, we must not overlook the severe environmental impact caused by the exploitation of this resource.
We advise you to read these other posts on how oil and environmental impact for oil and natural gas are formed.
Renewable energies
In contrast to the previous section, renewable energies are, precisely, one of Guatemala’s renewable resources. Among the different forms of renewable energy we can mention: hydroelectric, geothermal, solar, wind and more. Within these forms of energy, Hydroelectric energy is the most frequent due to the richness of rivers that the country has. It is interesting to note that, unlike the other mentioned natural resources, the exploitation of renewable energy has minimal impacts on the environment and contributes to the sustainable development of the country.
Here you can read more about this: what is hydraulic energy and examples.
Biodiversity
Guatemala is the habitat of a Wide diversity of flora and fauna. In fact, it is considered one of the planet’s regions with more biodiversity wealth. In total, Guatemala houses more than 9,000 species of plant and vertebrate animals, with a high degree of endemism: 13% of fauna species are endemic, while 15% of the flora species are endemic. As if that were not enough, this country has 33 species of beaten salamanders, being the only country that houses this surprising diversity of salamanders. Next we will list examples of flora and fauna.
Guatemala plant species
- Ebony (Godpyros Ebenum
- Mahogany (Swietenia Macrophylla)
- Pinabete (Abies Guatemalensis)
- Xate (CHAMEDOREA ELEGANS)
- Chicozapote (Manilkara Zapota)
Guatemala animal species
- Jaguar (Panthera onca)
- Quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno)
- Jackson’s climbing salamandra (Bolitoglossa Jacksoni)
- Culebrita Negra (Tantilla Bairdi)
- Salamandra Guatemalteca (Dendrotriton Rabbi)
Here you can learn more about Guatemala’s flora and fauna and also at +15 animals in danger of extinction in Guatemala.
If you want to read more articles similar to Guatemala natural resourceswe recommend that you enter our category of other environment.
