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Al Jazeera
21-05-2025
- General
- Al Jazeera
Photos: Local communities vow to fight new Panama Canal reservoir
Magdalena Martinez has spent her entire life along the banks of the Indio River, but a proposed dam intended to shield the Panama Canal from drought now threatens to engulf her home. The 49-year-old is among hundreds of residents opposing an artificial lake that would feed the crucial interoceanic waterway. 'I feel sick about this threat we're facing,' said Martinez, who lives in a wooden house with a metal roof in Boca de Uracillo with her husband and five of her 13 children. 'We don't know where we're going to go.' Martinez's family has always lived in the small village surrounded by lush mountains, where locals depend on farming crops such as cassava and maize and raising livestock for their livelihoods. The community insists it will not allow its homes to be sacrificed for the benefit of the world's multibillion-dollar global shipping industry. Last week, hundreds of villagers took to the Indio River in motorised canoes to protest against the planned dam, which would force thousands of families to relocate. The Panama Canal Authority (ACP), the autonomous public body managing the waterway, decided to construct the reservoir to address severe droughts like the one in 2023, which led to drastic cuts in ship traffic. The century-old canal, linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, relies on formerly abundant rainfall stored in two artificial lakes that also provide drinking water. Used predominantly by shipping clients from the United States, China and Japan, the canal operates a lock system to lift and lower vessels, releasing millions of litres of fresh water with each transit. The proposed reservoir, spanning approximately 4,600 hectares (11,400 acres), would deliver water through a nine-kilometre (5.6-mile) tunnel to one of the existing lakes. The project 'meets a need identified a long time ago: it's the water of the future,' said Karina Vergara, an environmental and social manager at the ACP. Work on the reservoir is expected to begin in 2027 and finish by 2032, with an estimated investment of $1.6bn. Of that sum, $400m is allocated for compensation and relocation of about 2,500 people from various villages. 'We have a firm commitment to dialogue and reaching agreements' with those affected, Vergara said. If the reservoir is not built, 'we'll regret it in 15 years,' she said. Civil society groups warn that as many as 12,000 people could ultimately be affected by the project, which enjoys the support of President Jose Raul Mulino, as the entire Indio River basin would be affected. The 80-kilometre-long Panama Canal handles six percent of global maritime trade and remains vital to Panama's economy. It is also at the centre of a diplomatic row, as former US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to 'take back' the waterway, handed over to Panama in 1999, citing alleged Chinese influence.
Washington Post
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Planned water reserve intended to ease shortages in the Panama Canal fuels river protest
PANAMA CITY — Dozens of boats carrying around 200 people, mostly farmers waving Panamanian flags, traveled along the country's central Indio River on Friday to protest a planned reservoir in the Panama Canal intended to solve water shortages in the waterway that have threatened international trade flow. The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) says building the reservoir is the best way to provide an additional water source for over 2 million people in Panama City and to ensure the canal operates efficiently in the coming decades.
The Independent
16-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Planned water reserve intended to ease shortages in the Panama Canal fuels river protest
Dozens of boats carrying around 200 people, mostly farmers waving Panamanian flags, traveled along the country's central Indio River on Friday to protest a planned reservoir in the Panama Canal intended to solve water shortages in the waterway that have threatened international trade flow. The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) says building the reservoir is the best way to provide an additional water source for over 2 million people in Panama City and to ensure the canal operates efficiently in the coming decades. The canal, which needs around 189 million liters (50 million gallons) of freshwater for each ship crossing, faced severe water shortages in 2023 due to lack of rain, forcing authorities to cut crossings by 20% and delay traffic. The proposed reservoir, which would take four years and $1.6 billion to build, could allow 12 to 13 more ship crossings per day and support new water treatment facilities being built, authorities say. But protesters say building the reservoir using the Indio River, in the canal's watershed, would also force 2,000 people to be relocated from their homes because their communities would be flooded. Other areas downstream could also be affected by reduced river flow. Iris Gallardo, a teacher from the Guasimo community and a member of the 'No to Reservoirs' movement, was among the group of mostly farmers waving Panamanian flags. She told the Associated Press they held the boat protest to show their rejection of the project and forced relocations. 'We are demanding that the multipurpose reservoir proposed by the ACP not be built without consulting and getting permission from the affected communities,' Gallardo said. Instead, protestors suggest using the nearby Bayano Lake, located east of the capital. Authorities dismissed that idea due to logistical, legal challenges and cost, and said that such a project would displace 200,000 people – far more than the current plan. They said the project would also offer jobs to communities and that the resettlement plan is being developed with the community. Former Panama Canal administrator Jorge Luis Quijano said opponents of the project don't understand how serious the water problem is. 'The only way to have water is to store it,' he said.
Associated Press
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Planned water reserve intended to ease shortages in the Panama Canal fuels river protest
PANAMA CITY (AP) — Dozens of boats carrying around 200 people, mostly farmers waving Panamanian flags, traveled along the country's central Indio River on Friday to protest a planned reservoir in the Panama Canal intended to solve water shortages in the waterway that have threatened international trade flow. The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) says building the reservoir is the best way to provide an additional water source for over 2 million people in Panama City and to ensure the canal operates efficiently in the coming decades. The canal, which needs around 189 million liters (50 million gallons) of freshwater for each ship crossing, faced severe water shortages in 2023 due to lack of rain, forcing authorities to cut crossings by 20% and delay traffic. The proposed reservoir, which would take four years and $1.6 billion to build, could allow 12 to 13 more ship crossings per day and support new water treatment facilities being built, authorities say. But protesters say building the reservoir using the Indio River, in the canal's watershed, would also force 2,000 people to be relocated from their homes because their communities would be flooded. Other areas downstream could also be affected by reduced river flow. Iris Gallardo, a teacher from the Guasimo community and a member of the 'No to Reservoirs' movement, was among the group of mostly farmers waving Panamanian flags. She told the Associated Press they held the boat protest to show their rejection of the project and forced relocations. 'We are demanding that the multipurpose reservoir proposed by the ACP not be built without consulting and getting permission from the affected communities,' Gallardo said. Instead, protestors suggest using the nearby Bayano Lake, located east of the capital. Authorities dismissed that idea due to logistical, legal challenges and cost, and said that such a project would displace 200,000 people – far more than the current plan. They said the project would also offer jobs to communities and that the resettlement plan is being developed with the community. Former Panama Canal administrator Jorge Luis Quijano said opponents of the project don't understand how serious the water problem is. 'The only way to have water is to store it,' he said.
The Independent
16-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
AP PHOTOS: Protests in Panama enter third week, challenging President Mulino
Protests in Panama have entered their third week, challenging several recent actions by President José Raúl Mulino. Demonstrators are opposing a recently enacted law that overhauled the country's pension system, a security memorandum of understanding signed with the United States that critics say undermines Panama's sovereignty over the canal, and plans to build a new reservoir on the Indio River to supply water for the Panama Canal's locks. This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
