Grenada
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Grenada is a nation composed of one major island and much smaller islands (part of the group known as the Grenedines) located in the southeast Caribbean Sea. Grenada is located at longitude 61° 4' W and latitude 12° 4' N, situated 110 kilometers (km) southwest of Saint Vincent and 145 km north of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the most southerly of the Windward Islands. The largest island, Grenada (311 km2), is 34 km long and 19 km wide, with two much smaller islands Carriacou (34 km2), and Petit Martinique (3.2 km2), thereby giving a total land area of 348.2 km2. Grenada is mostly volcanic in origin, of steep rugged topography, with a main mountain chain running almost north-south in two main sections. The island is subdivided into seven parishes, six on Grenada with Carriacou and Petit Martinique together constituting the seventh.Grenada is part of the island group referred to as the Lesser Antillies and part of the region known as the Caribbean or the West Indies.
Carib Indians inhabited Grenada when Columbus discovered the island in 1498, but it remained uncolonized for more than a century. The French settled Grenada in the 17th century, established sugar estates, and imported large numbers of African slaves. Britain took the island in 1762 and vigorously expanded sugar production. In the 19th century, cacao eventually surpassed sugar as the main export crop; in the 20th century, nutmeg became the leading export. In 1967, Britain gave Grenada autonomy over its internal affairs. Full independence was attained in 1974, making Grenada one of the smallest independent countries in the Western Hemisphere. In 1983 a Marxist military council took control of Grenada and, six days later, the island was invaded by US forces and those of six other Caribbean nations. Free elections were reinstituted the following year and have continued since that time. Hurricane Ivan struck Grenada in September of 2004 causing severe damage.
The Windward Islands form a volcanic island arc consisting of lava flows, ash, and pyroclastic deposits ranging from Miocene to recent in age. Some limestones are interspersed between the volcanic layers. Typically, lava flows outcrop on the steeper slopes and ash underlies the gentler slopes. St. Lucia, and Martinique are predominantly composed of acid andesite and dacitic rocks. Pyroclastic flow deposits, volcanoclastics, and lava domes are typical for these islands. Characteristic soils in the ecoregion are clay-based and, due to the proximity to coastal areas and higher population densities, often susceptible to significant erosion.
Geography
Location: Between the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago
Geographic Coordinates: 12 07 N, 61 40 W
Area: 344 square km
arable land: 5.88%
permanent crops: 29.41%
other: 64.71% (2005)
Coastline: 121 km
Maritime Claims: Territorial sea to 12 nautical miles and an exclusive economic zone to 200 nautical miles
Natural Hazards: Grenada lies on edge of hurricane belt; hurricane season lasts from June to November.
Terrain: Volcanic in origin with central mountains. The highest point is Mount Saint Catherine (840 meters).
Climate: Tropical; tempered by northeast trade winds.
Ecology and Biodiversity
See Windward Islands dry forests
Grenada ecology is part of the Windward Islands dry forests ecoregion. The ecoregion is characterized by steep topography and is most often found in the intermediate area between the rugged interior-island mountains and the flatter, xeric coastal areas. This dry forest ecoregion is sparsely distributed among the Windward Island Group of the Caribbean’s Lesser Antilles. It is commonly found as an intermediate gradient between the moister, high-elevation forests and the xeric, coastal areas. Much of this ecoregion has been dramatically altered by shifting cultivation. Many areas that were once dry evergreen or semi-evergreen seasonal forest, are now cultivated and dominated by farms, rural villages, roads, pastures and banana stands. This ecoregion shares flora and fauna with adjacent moist forests and, in some areas, with species native to coastal habitats. Arid coastal areas and inaccessible interior mountains put a disproportionate amount of human-related pressures (i.e., agricultural expansion, roads, buildings, etc.) on this ecoregion. Consequently, conservation attention is of particular importance in these dry forests.
By virtue of its proximity to the Windward Islands Moist Forest Ecoregion, which is very high in terms of biological richness and diversity, this ecoregion also has abundant flora and fauna. Due to its restricted size, distribution and similarity to the moist forest ecoregion however, little information exists regarding plants and animals specific only to this area.
A notable endemic species is the Grenada Dove (Leptotila wellsi), which critically endangered.
Grenada has one established protected area (Grand Etang Forest Reserve), however, there is no substantive national park legislation that provides adequate authority either to establish or to manage national parks and protected areas.
As with most other areas in the Lesser Antilles, all extant mammal species in this ecoregion were introduced by Amerindian or Colonial settlers and subsequently threaten native species. Common are the mongoose (Herpestes officinarum), agouti (Dasyprocta antillensis), opposum (Didelphis marsupialis), pig (Sus scrofa), and domestic cat and dog. Four regionally endemic bats can be found in separate portions of this ecoregion: Monophyllus plethodon, Ardops nichollsi, Brachyphylla cavernarum, and Myotis martiniquensis. There are no remaining endemic rodents in the Lesser Antilles.
Government
Government Type: Parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm
Capital: Saint George's
Independence Date: 7 February 1974 (from the UK)
Legal System: based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory International Court of Justice jurisdiction
International Environmental Agreements
Grenada is party to international agreements on Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, the Ozone Layer Protection, and Whaling.
People and Society
Population: 90,739 (July 2009 est.)
Age Structure:
Median age: 22.8 years
0-14 years: 32% (male 14,608/female 14,410)
15-64 years: 65.2% (male 31,278/female 27,873)
65 years and over: 2.8% (male 1,268/female 1,302) (2009 est.)
Population Growth Rate: 0.468% (2009 est.)
Birthrate: 21.61 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death Rate: 6.31 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net Migration Rate: -10.55 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Life Expectancy at Birth: 65.95 years
Total Fertility Rate: 2.23 children born/woman (2009 est.)
Languages: English (official), French patois
Literacy: 96%
The Human Development Index for Grenada is 0.762, which gives Grenada a rank of 85th out of 177 countries with data. See Grenada's Human Development Index for 2004.
Water
Water resources originate mainly from a system of permanent streams and rivers but there is some groundwater available from the limestone areas along the northwest coast. The entire population (rural and urban) has access to the domestic water supply. About 80% of the island is connected to the public water supply, 7% to standpipes while the remainder is supplied from rain water catchments. However, there is very little available from that supply that can be diverted to agriculture. Irrigated agriculture is largely undeveloped in Grenada. The irrigation potential has not been quantified and though there is water available from a number of surface and groundwater sources, these sources have not been tapped nor is the extent of this resource known.
Resources
Natural Resources: Timber, tropical fruit, deepwater harbors
Economy
Grenada relies on tourism as its main source of foreign exchange, especially since the construction of an international airport in 1985. Hurricanes Ivan (2004) and Emily (2005) severely damaged the nutmeg industry, which was previously a key driver of economic growth, and the industry is not expected to recover in the near-term. The agricultural sector, particularly nutmeg and cocoa cultivation, has gradually recovered from the hurricanes, and the tourism sector has seen substantial increases in foreign direct investment as the regional share of the tourism market increases. Strong performances in construction and manufacturing, together with the development of an offshore financial industry, have also contributed to growth in national output; however, economic growth will likely slow in 2009 because of the global economic slowdown's effects on tourism and remittances. Grenada has rebounded from the devastating effects of Hurricanes Ivan and Emily, but is now saddled with the debt burden from the rebuilding process.
GDP: (Purchasing Power Parity): $1.211 billion (2008 est.)
GDP: (Official Exchange Rate): $657 million (2008 est.)
GDP-real growth rate: 3.7% (2008 est.)
GDP- per capita (PPP): $13,400 (2008 est.)
GDP- composition by sector:
agriculture: 5.4%
industry: 18%
services: 76.6% (2003)
Industries: Food and beverages, textiles, light assembly operations, tourism, construction
Exports: Bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, fruit and vegetables, clothing, and mace.
Imports: Food, manufactured goods, machinery, chemicals, fuel
Currency: East Caribbean dollars (XCD)
Further Reading
- The CIA World Factbook
- Water profile of Grenada, Food and Agriculture Organization.
- World Wildlife Fund Homepage
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