Forum on Indigenous Rights in Panama Condemns Mining, Hydroelectric, and Residential Tourism Ventures

Everyone pays attention when Yaritza Espinoza talks. Her small, wiry frame belies a strong, passionate voice when she speaks about the hundreds of mines, hydroelectric dams, and tourist resorts that are being planned for Panama's indigenous regions. Yaritza, a university student and a member of an environmental group called Voces Ecológicas (Ecological Voices), spoke to a over 100 indigenous activists, students, and supporters at the University of Panama on October 10. The diverse group listened attentively as Yaritza explained that this impending wave of projects will lead to a surge of internally-displaced people. Whole villages all over the country will be forced from their lands by mining activities, flooding from dams, and tourist development. These internal migrants, Yaritza warned, will affect the entire country as they attempt to find shelter and new employment. She closed her presentation by showing a map of all of the proposed mining concessions, and asked the audience if their homes were located near any of the small, colored boxes on the map. Many in the audience responded with anger and concern that yes, they lived close to these concessions. Yaritza explained that over 200,000 hectares have been granted for mining concessions, and, even more shocking, that 90% of Panama's waters have been concessioned for hydroelectric power.

Map courtesy of Centro de Incidencia Ambiental (www.ciampanama.org)

Yaritza was just one of nearly two dozen speakers at this forum on indigenous rights, convened by the Ngäbe Student Association at the University of Panama. The forum highlighted the concerns of Panama's indigenous communities about the wave of projects, including Dominion Minerals' Cerro Chorcha Mine, that threaten their lands and livelihoods.