Panama

Panama creates a land divide between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and a bridge between North and South America. Its coastal plains rise to steep interior mountains. Most of the country is used for human activities, in its majority by rangeland. Panama has high biodiversity rarity of terrestrial land vertebrates at a global scale. When analysed as single taxons, the rarity of amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles is also high. The rarity of marine fish and mammals is also high. Challenges to biodiversity include water pollution; deforestation; soil erosion; air pollution; and mining activities.