Similarly, the region is blessed with more freshwater per capita than any other region of the world, but during the past fifty years it has suffered the greatest decrease per capita. The principal culprits are poor watershed management, misuse of agricultural inputs, the overdrawing of aquifers, and the lack of wastewater treatment. The region's marine and coastal resources include the second longest reef in the world, and extensive mangroves and estuaries. These resources harbor globally important biological diversity, support fisheries and tourism, buffer coastal communities against storm damage, and are at the core of some countries' economies. However, siltation, pesticides, and wastewater are smothering the region's reefs.
Scientists categorize the survival of two-thirds of the reefs as threatened or highly threatened.
Rapid urbanization, fueled in large part by immigration from rural areas, is magnifying cities' already severe environmental problems. Conditions are particularly severe in shantytowns where almost half of city residents live, where the greatest growth is taking place, and where raw sewage and solid waste are dumped directly into the environment. More than ninety percent of LAC's urban and industrial wastewater is released to the environment untreated. None of the numerous examples illustrates the impact of resource mismanagement more clearly than Hurricane Mitch. It is the combination of the two that leads to disasters.