Imminent Forced Evictions of Indigenous Ngöbe Families due to Barro Blanco Dam in Panama

This urgent appeal, submitted by several NGOs to United Nations Special Rapporteurs, alleges that the Barro Blanco hydroelectric dam project in western Panama is causing imminent forced evictions of indigenous Ngöbe families. The document argues that the State of Panama, as well as financing states Germany and the Netherlands and member states of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), are violating international human rights law by failing to obtain free, prior, and informed consent and by threatening the Ngöbe's rights to housing, food, water, culture, and education.

• The Barro Blanco hydroelectric dam project, a 28.84 MW project on the Tabasará River in the Province of Chiriquí, is projected to displace approximately 270 indigenous Ngöbe people from the communities of Quebrada Caña, Kiad, and Nuevo Palomar. The project is registered under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).
• The document alleges that Panama has failed to meet international obligations regarding forced evictions by not establishing 'exceptional circumstances' to justify the project. While Panama declared the project 'urgent' and in the 'public interest,' the appeal argues this is insufficient to override the requirement for free, prior, and informed consent from indigenous peoples.
• The Ngöbe communities were not consulted prior to the project's approval, and the appeal claims that Panama violated their right to housing by failing to explore feasible alternatives to relocation in consultation with the affected people.
• The forced evictions threaten the Ngöbe's rights to food, water, and means of subsistence. The communities rely on the Tabasará River for water and the surrounding tropical forest (Bosque de Galería) for subsistence crops—including bananas, cassava, and cocoa—as well as medicinal plants and construction materials.
• The project threatens the Ngöbe's cultural and educational rights. The flooding would affect the Petroglyphs of Quebrada Caña and Kiad, which are part of their historical heritage, and would destroy the central school used for Ngöbe culture, language, and religion.
• The appeal claims that the compensation offered is inadequate. For example, an eviction notice for Mr. Manolo Miranda's family of approximately 50 people assigned a cash value of $4,000 USD, which the document argues fails to replace the essential land and common property resources required for survival.
• The document asserts that Germany and the Netherlands, through the German Investment Corporation (DEG) and the Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO), and the member states of CABEI, have failed to prevent their development banks from financing a project that violates human rights.
• Assessments of the dam's impact have been criticized for underestimating the flood zone. A September 2013 UNDP Expert Assessment Report found the flood level to be several meters higher than previously stated in reports by GENISA and the UNDP, meaning more houses and people are at risk.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2014). Imminent Forced Evictions of Indigenous Ngöbe Families due to Barro Blanco Dam in Panama. https://www.ciel.org/Publications/BarroBlanco_Appeal_18Feb2014.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. Imminent Forced Evictions of Indigenous Ngöbe Families due to Barro Blanco Dam in Panama. 2014. https://www.ciel.org/Publications/BarroBlanco_Appeal_18Feb2014.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=Imminent Forced Evictions of Indigenous Ngöbe Families due to Barro Blanco Dam in Panama |date=18 February 2014 |url=https://www.ciel.org/Publications/BarroBlanco_Appeal_18Feb2014.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2014imminent, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{Imminent Forced Evictions of Indigenous Ngöbe Families due to Barro Blanco Dam in Panama}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2014}, month = feb, url = {https://www.ciel.org/Publications/BarroBlanco_Appeal_18Feb2014.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }