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The Caribbean

Kathleen McGinley

USDA Forest Service

International Institute for Tropical Forestry

Forests in the Caribbean have gone through many changes since the islands were first inhabited more than four thousand years ago.  Until the 1500s, the islands remained predominantly forested, most with over ninety percent forest cover.  However, with the colonization of the New World came significant changes to most Caribbean islands.  By the early 1900s, many islands were heavily deforested and some, such as Puerto Rico, had less than 10% forest cover.[i]  Prior to the mid-1900s, much of the deforestation was attributed to commercial agriculture including sugar cane, bananas, and coffee.  Since then, forests have been cleared for commercial and urban development, timber, mining, fuelwood and subsistence agriculture.  Today, forests in the Caribbean are an increasingly valuable resource for water protection, erosion control, biodiversity conservation, recreation, and cultural appreciation.[ii]

Major Forest Types

At the broadest level of forest types, more than 99% of forests in the Caribbean are classified as tropical forests, while less than 1% are described as subtropical.[iii]  Elevations in the Caribbean Islands range from forty meters below sea level to over 3,000 meters.  The windward sides of the islands tend to be the wettest, while the leeward sides are typically drier.  Ranges in these and other conditions drive a wide variety of forest types.  Though many systems have been developed for describing forest types of the Caribbean, the most widely used system was developed for tropical America by J. S. Beard in 1955.  He proposed a vegetation classification system based on floristics, physiognomy, and habitat.

As classified by Beard, the richest forests in the Caribbean are seasonal evergreen, semi-evergreen and deciduous forests.  These three forest types are found in the lowlands, and defined by successively drier conditions.  There are various types of lower-montane rain forests and montane rain forests.  The highest peaks on most islands typically have occurrences of high mountain forests or elfin woodlands.  Beard also describes seasonal swamp forests, swamp forests and mangrove forests found throughout the Caribbean.[iv]

Regional Forest Cover[v]

 
The Caribbean islands are typically delineated by physiographic groupings that include the Greater Antilles, the Lesser Antilles, and the isolated island groups of the Bahamas, the North American continental shelf, and the South American shelf.  The Greater Antilles, which include Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti), and Puerto Rico, comprise a total land area of approximately 21 million hectares (M ha).  Forest cover for this physiographic group is estimated at 4.94 M ha, which covers approximately 24% of their combined land base. 

The Lesser Antilles, together with the isolated island groups, represent approximately 2.75 M ha of total land area, of which an estimated 1.03 M ha are under forest cover (37%).  The Caribbean islands with the greatest extent of forest cover are Cuba (2.7 M ha), Dominican Republic (1.38 M Ha) and the Bahamas (0.52 M ha).  Of the Greater Antilles, Puerto Rico has the greatest proportion of forest cover (46.0%), followed by Dominican Republic (28.4%) and Cuba (24.7%).  The Turks and Caicos Islands have the highest proportion of forests in the Lesser Antilles and isolated island groups (80%), followed by Dominica (61.3%) and the Bahamas (51.5%). 

Throughout the Caribbean, the Northern Antilles have the lowest percentage of forest cover (1.5%), followed by Aruba (2.2%), Haiti (3.8%) and Barbados (4.0%).  The Bahamas have the highest forest area per capita at 1.64 hectares per person, followed by the Turks and Caicos Islands (1.61 ha/capita), Montserrat (0.58 ha/capita), and Trinidad and Tobago (0.44 ha/capita).  The islands with the least forest area per capita are the Netherlands Antilles (0.005ha/capita), Barbados (0.007ha/capita), Bermuda (0.012ha/capita) and Haiti (0.013ha/capita).

Compared to the extensive deforestation throughout the region in the first half of the 20^th century, forest cover has increased in the Caribbean in the last half century as agricultural lands are gradually abandoned and left to naturally regenerate or are replanted with tree species for timber production and environmental services. [vi]  Between 1990 and 2000, the Caribbean averaged an increase in forest cover of 36,000 ha per year, which is an annual increase on approximately 0.65% of the total regional land base.  Regional – level forest area continued to increase at a greater rate between 2000 and 2005  (54,000 ha/yr; 0.92% annually). 

The islands with the most significant average annual increases in forest cover from 1990 to 2005 are Cuba (1.87%), St. Vincent and the Grenadines (0.8%) and Puerto Rico (0.05%).  Much of the increase in forest area in Cuba and in St. Vincent and the Grenadines is due to the establishment of plantations primarily for water, soil, and coastal protection, though plantations have also been established for timber and fuelwood production in both nations.  Increase in forest area in Puerto Rico is largely due to natural regeneration of abandoned agricultural and pasture land to forest. 

Despite increases in forest cover on specific islands and at the regional level, some islands continue to experience negative changes in forest cover.  Between 1990 and 2000, the U.S. Virgin Islands lost an average 1.3% of its forest cover per year, and an average 1.8% of its forest cover per year between 2000 and 2005.  Haiti lost an average annual 0.6% of its forest cover between 1990 and 2000, and 0.7% between 2000 and 2005, and Dominica lost an average annual 0.5% between 1990 and 2000, and 0.6% on average between 2000 and 2005. 

Forest loss in the U.S. Virgin Islands is principally due to development.  In Haiti, where forests once covered the entire island of Hispaniola, today approximately 3.8% of its land base is classified as forest.  Much of the recent decline in forest area in Haiti is due to fuelwood collection and the subsequent burning and conversion of this land to agriculture and grazing land.  In contrast to Haiti, Dominica is one of the most densely forested islands in the Caribbean (61.3%).  Deforestation in Dominica is principally due to timber and fuelwood harvest and subsequent conversion to traditional and subsistence agricultural land.  In Dominica, deforestation has also been attributed to development, though to a much lesser extent.

In terms of forest protection, the FAO Forest Resources Assessment 2005 indicates that 37% of forest area in the Caribbean is designated for protection functions, and another 20% is designated for conservation.  As for specific countries, the most recent and most often cited statistics for the Caribbean region were produced by the Center for International Forestry Research and the World Conservation Monitoring Center in 1997. [vii]  Of the reported Caribbean islands, Martinique has the highest percentage of forest area protected (70%), followed by Guadeloupe (36%) and Montserrat (23%).  Of the greater Antilles, Jamaica has the highest percentage of forest area protected (22%), followed by the Dominican Republic (19%) and Cuba (12%).  Approximately 5% of forest area in Puerto Rico is protected, and slightly less than 2% of forests are protected in Haiti. [viii]

Forest Values

In terms of timber, of the islands that report industrial roundwood production Martinique produces 2.30 million m³/yr, followed by Cuba (0.83 million m³/yr), Haiti (0.28 million m³/yr), Trinidad and Tobago (.08 million m³/yr), and the Bahamas (0.02 million m³/yr).  Dominican Republic, Barbados and Jamaica each report less than 10,000 m³/yr of industrial roundwood production. [ix]  Though less than half of the Caribbean islands have an active or semi-active timber industry, reforestation and plantation projects are found on almost every island.  Tree planting in the Caribbean is primarily carried out for soil and water conservation, though a portion is for the promotion of local timber production. [x] 

Despite persistent pressures on forest land in the Caribbean from development, conversion to industrial and subsistence agriculture, and fuelwood collection, there is a growing recognition of the environmental and social values associated with these forests, which is reflected in changes in forest use, protection and policy. Watershed protection is perhaps the most important role that forests play in the Caribbean today.  Caribbean forests are also highly valued for biodiversity, soil conservation, greenhouse gas mitigation, recreational uses, scenic beauty, and cultural significance. [xi]

The rich diversity of species and natural communities found in the Caribbean islands serves as a substantial draw for nature based tourism – one of the fastest growing industries in the region.  In recent years, the region has seen a rapid transition from agriculture- to service- based economies that center more on tourism.  For example, in St. Lucia, agriculture represented 16% of the total GDP in 1977, while tourism represented 21%. In 1997, agriculture decreased to 8% of the total GDP while tourism increased to 33%.  The challenge for many islands is making the secondary transition from traditional tourism economies and infrastructure that can deplete and alter natural landscapes and resources, to low impact, nature-based ecotourism.  The growing tourism industry and its role in local economies reveal very strong ties to a healthy, natural environment, whereby well-managed and protected forests can serve as an attraction for tourism, stimulating the economy, while simultaneously protecting the surrounding environment. [xii] 

Forest and Natural Resource Policy in the Caribbean

Today, throughout the Caribbean, every island has explicit policies for natural resource management and conservation, and most have developed specific policies for forests. [xiii]  Nonetheless, policies for forest protection and sustainable use in the Caribbean, for the most part, have not had the intended impacts because they often fail to address the underlying factors that drive deforestation - industrial scale agriculture, urban development, and to a lesser degree, fuelwood consumption.  Furthermore, natural resource and forest policies are rarely supported with sufficient financing, technology, personnel, and training. [xiv] 

Nevertheless, there is progress on many fronts.  Where forest policies were once predominantly focused on forest production in some Caribbean countries, and where natural resource and forest policies were essentially non-existent in others, today policy-makers throughout the region are increasingly amenable to the notion of forest sustainability, to the variety of goods and services provided by forests, and to the links between healthy forests and sustainable economic development. [xv] 

End Notes

^{Posted 18 August 2007
 
Updated 22 August 2007}