Panama’s Barro Blanco dam project

A coalition of environmental and human rights organizations requests that the UN Independent Expert on Human Rights and the Environment examine the Barro Blanco dam project in Panama. The authors argue that the project, registered under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), has proceeded without adequate consultation with the indigenous Ngäbe people, leading to threats to their land, culture, and physical security, including state-sponsored violence against environmental defenders.

• The Barro Blanco hydroelectric dam on the Tabasará River is projected to cause significant socio-environmental damage, including the flooding of homes, schools, and cultural sites within the Ngäbe-Buglé comarca, and the conversion of the river into a stagnant lake ecosystem that threatens the Ngäbe's diet and livelihoods.
• The project developer, GENISA, and the Panamanian environmental authority (ANAM) failed to properly consult affected Ngäbe communities or include the Ngäbe-Buglé comarca adequately in the environmental impact assessment (EIA), which ANAM approved in May 2008 despite alleged violations of norms.
• The project's registration under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) in June 2011 is contested, as evidence suggests it may not satisfy requirements for sustainable development or carbon emission reductions, potentially fostering human rights violations through climate change mechanisms.
• Environmental defenders facing the project have experienced state-sponsored violence, including a March 19, 2013 incident where police used rubber bullets and tear gas against protestors in Vigui, followed three days later by the murder of a Ngäbe man.
• The Government of Panama has failed to implement a March 2012 agreement to conduct an expert assessment of the project's controversies, and a lawsuit challenging the EIA remains unheard due to procedural delays while construction continues.

APA

Carbon Market Watch (2013). Panama’s Barro Blanco dam project. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Letter-to-John-Knox-Barro-Blanco-24-June-2013.pdf

Chicago

Carbon Market Watch. Panama’s Barro Blanco dam project. 2013. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Letter-to-John-Knox-Barro-Blanco-24-June-2013.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Carbon Market Watch |title=Panama’s Barro Blanco dam project |date=24 June 2013 |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Letter-to-John-Knox-Barro-Blanco-24-June-2013.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{carbonmarketwatch2013panamas, author = {{Carbon Market Watch}}, title = {{Panama’s Barro Blanco dam project}}, publisher = {Carbon Market Watch}, year = {2013}, month = jun, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Letter-to-John-Knox-Barro-Blanco-24-June-2013.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }