Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
slash-and-burn method so widespread in the developing world. And everywhere the
settler-farmers go, ranchers move in behind them. As of 2012, the Panamanian govern-
ment had paved most of the Interamericana to Yaviza.
Tropical rainforests cover just 7% of the earth's surface but account for 50% of the
world's biodiversity.
Mining
Today, roughly 26% of Panama is mined or under mining concessions, bringing concerns
of contaminated water sources, and the destruction of forest and human habitats.
A major victory for community interests was the 2012 passing of law 415, which pro-
hibits extraction in indigenous territories and requires their approval for hydro-electric
projects. The change came after a shutdown of Ngöbe-Bugle community protests earlier
in February, 2012, left two protesters dead.
In spite of objections by prominent environmental groups, the government has ap-
proved and expedited large-scale mining projects, most notably a US$6.2 billion dollar
project - an investment greater than the present expansion of the Panama Canal - to ex-
tract gold and copper.
For more information on mining issues, contact CIAM (
Click here
).
TRADING DEBT FOR FOREST
Conservationists are rethinking how to keep valuable resources in countries whose
national debt offers a more pressing public concern. The Nature Conservancy
(
www.nature.org
)
is among nonprofits purchasing countries' national debt and us-
ing later payments toward forest protection programs. Panama has had a total of
US$20 million in debt-for-nature swaps in the last decade. The present downturn
in this trend has been attributed to the high cost of commercial debt in secondary
markets.
Dams
Dams may become an epidemic in Panama, where proposals have been submitted for al-
most every river in the country. But none raises as much alarm as the US$50 million hy-
droelectric dam project underway on Naso tribal territory. The project on the Río Bonyic
threatens the settlement and water supply. The reservoir would result in flooding up to
