PIP: The astonishing range of plants and animals of Central America's 7 countries (Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama) is disappearing, as 60% of its forests have been cut for lumber and firewood as well as for cotton, cattle, or subsistence crops. Up to 5 million Mayans lived sustainably for thousands of years in an area now being destroyed by a few hundred thousand inhabitants. The Spanish colonization that started 500 years ago was concentrated in Panama, Nicaragua, and Guatemala. The majority of the English-speaking country of Belize are descended from the black slave population whose culture spread down the coast to Central America. Panama's service economy is based on the Panama Canal and trade and finance. Costa Rica benefits from a tourist industry based on its natural beauty, however, it also has the highest rate of deforestation and its fast population growth could jeopardize earlier social and economic progress. In El Salvador and Guatemala long periods of civil conflict have taken their toll on the economy and the environment. El Salvador has a mountainous territory and limited natural resources and industrialization, while the best land is in the hands of a few families. Honduras and Nicaragua retain the highest proportion of forest cover of the countries in the region, despite Nicaragua's years of tyranny, then revolution and the Contra war, and Honduras's own turmoils. Belize has achieved some stability, and is now strengthening its Central American links. Its coral reefs and coastal areas offer potential for sustainable development through fishing and tourism. Central American countries face the challenges of their fragile environments and major social problems.