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Panama: Panama Environment Profile 2012

2012/03/23

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Panama Environment Profile 2012

Environmentally compatible growth is taken into account at the institutional level in important aspects of economic life but tends to be subordinated to growth exigencies. Air and water pollution, soil erosion and deforestation are the primary environmental problems in Panama. Currently, the environmental debate concentrates on the environmental impact of the government’s ambitious canal expansion plan. In September 2007, President Torríjos gave the official start for the $5.3 billion project. Work should be finished by 2014, when the waterway completes its centenary. The initial plan included the construction of several dams and storage lakes and was met with harsh protest from rural communities. The current plan includes the building of retention basins next to the new locks in order to reduce water consumption. While the Panama Canal Authority states that the project is environmentally viable, prominent scientists claim that the canal-feeding Gatún Lake faces a high risk of salinization and that water shortages will increase during El Niño incidences. Gatún Lake provides the drinking water for most of Panama’s urban population. In 2007, with the assistance of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the government started a project to modernize and strengthen Panama’s national environmental agency (ANAM). ANAM is responsible for formulating the country’s environmental policies and monitoring compliance with environmental standards. It also manages the national system of protected areas and has oversight over water and forest resources.