Search Climate Insights Directory

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.

This 2012 report analyzes the lack of legal recognition for indigenous-led conservation areas (TICCAs) in Panama. It details how the state's National System of Protected Areas (SINAP) often overlaps with indigenous territories, leading to conflicts and the restriction of traditional livelihoods. The report highlights the Guna people's 'Galus' and 'Birias' as effective traditional conservation models and recommends legislative reforms to recognize indigenous land rights and traditional knowledge in biodiversity management.

This briefing consists of testimonies presented to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) on October 25, 2010, by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and environmental defenders from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Panama. The testimonies denounce a regional pattern of violence, criminalization, and systemic impunity targeting individuals who oppose the impacts of the mining industry in Mesoamerica.