martes, 18 de noviembre de 2008

Stop Dam Construction / Panama

Oct 4, 2007 - Stop Dam Construction / Panama

Four proposed hydroelectric dam projects threaten free-flowing Panamanian rivers, rare tropical species, indigenous cultures and a biologically diverse World Heritage site in the remote rainforest of western Panama. Promoted by the Panamanian government, the Colombian-owned Hidroecologica del Teribe (HET), and the U.S.-based AES Corporation, the dam projects would forever alter the pristine rivers of the Changuinola/Teribe watershed.

HET would operate a dam on the Bonyic River, within indigenous Naso territory. The remaining three dams would be constructed and operated by AES Corporation, which has recently faced lawsuits in the Dominican Republic for the alleged dumping of rock-ash. AES also had to pull out of the controversial Bujagali dam project in Uganda for issues similar to those in Panama. And more than 5,000 people protested a proposed electric plant in El Salvador this summer. In Panama, construction of the lowest Changuinola dam alone would biologically deplete more than 500 miles of streams. These four dams and their roads, bridges, and power lines would devastate unique native fish, damage the ecosystem, and open the remote jungle to development.

La Amistad Reserve contains Central America's largest intact tropical rainforest, is a United Nations designated World Heritage site, and harbors incredible biodiversity including more than 40 species of fish. Most of the fish in the watershed depend on access to the ocean to complete their life cycles, but the dams would hinder migration, possibly leading to the disappearance of up to 11 aquatic species. The dams would also flood indigenous Naso and Ngobe territories, displacing several thousand people.

Please join the growing international movement to protect this ecological jewel and voice your opposition to the proposed Hydroelectric Projects.

In-Depth Information:
Massive hydropower development is currently proposed for much of Mesoamerica that will industrialize the region in the name of free trade. More than 380 dams are currently proposed for the area, potentially affecting entire ecosystems and the biological diversity of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia. Currently, the most critical dam threats are the proposed hydropower projects near the border of Panama and Costa Rica within the Changuinola/Teribe watershed, on the Rio Changuinola and its major tributary, the Rio Teribe, which flow out of the La Amistad International Peace Park and Biosphere Reserve (a UNESCO World Heritage site), through the protected Palo Seco Forest Reserve and the territories of the Naso and Ngobe indigenous peoples, and into the Caribbean Sea through the Changuinola estuary, the center of the 40,000-acre San San/Pondsak wetlands (a Ramsar site).

La Amistad Reserve contains Central America's largest remaining intact tropical rainforest. Its vastness and greatly varied habitat shelter an impressive number of creatures, including nearly four percent of all terrestrial species varieties on Earth. La Amistad is one of the most biologically diverse areas on the planet, home to more than 40 species of fish, 250 species of reptiles and amphibians, 215 species of mammals and 600 species of birds, including the resplendent quetzal, three-wattled bellbird, bare-necked umbrella bird, harpy eagle, crested eagle, solitary eagle, orange-breasted falcon and 59 endemic bird species. This World Heritage site is one of the last refuges in western Panama for major species of felines such as the puma, ocelot, jaguarundi, tiger-cat and jaguar, as well as increasingly rare species such as tapirs. More than 180 endemic plant species and six endemic amphibians have been recorded at La Amistad.

Because Panama is a narrow isthmus, the Teribe and Changuinola Rivers are relatively short and intimately connected with the sea. Many of the fish and other aquatic creatures in these streams are diadromous, meaning they need access to saltwater at some stage in order to complete their life cycle. Some migrate downstream to the estuary to spawn, and their young must then make their way back upstream; others travel far upstream to reproduce and rely on currents to carry their eggs or larvae back to the sea. The dams would impede the life cycles and reproduction of the majority of fish and freshwater shrimp species in these rivers, eliminating much of the aquatic production, thus threatening fish species even below the dams. A potential consequence of the Changuinola projects and other hydropower projects proposed for Central America is the virtual disappearance of characteristic Mesoamerican river fauna, as has already occurred due to dam construction in the West Indies in places like Puerto Rico.

The Panamanian dam projects are being developed by the Colombian utility Empresas Publicas de Medellin (EPM); the Panamanian generator Hidroecologica del Teribe (HET); and the U.S.-based AES Corporation, a self-described "Global Power Company." Collaborators on the AES dams include Vattenfall AB of Sweden, E. Pihl & S?n A.S of Denmark, MT H?jgaard a/s of Denmark, and Alstom of Brazil. The Colombian corporation was seeking funding for the Bonyic project from the Inter-American Development Bank, but the project is so controversial that in 2005 the bank suspended consideration of loans for the project. As of September 2007, AES Corporation is securing funding and partners and has begun preliminary works on the remaining three dams, which would be located on the Changuinola River.

The Panama National Environmental Authority (ANAM) has approved flawed Environmental Impact Assessments that do not consider the impacts to the World Heritage site. It also granted a concession of 6,000 hectares to AES Corporation within the Palo Seco Forest Reserve, upon which to begin construction of the three Changuinola dams. These dams will cause massive damage to the biodiversity of the ecosystem and flood indigenous villages, effectively displacing thousands of people. Despite strong local opposition to any relocation, the company and government have developed plans to relocate several thousand Ngobe people living near the AES dam sites. These plans fail to comport with indigenous decision-making norms.

Please join the efforts of the Naso and Ngobe indigenous peoples, Panamanian organizations and a growing international movement to protect these important Central American rivers. Voice your opposition to the Bonyic Project to Hidroecologica del Teribe, S.A., and to the Changuinola Projects to AES Corporation and its collaborators. Please call Paul Hanrahan, President of AES, at (703) 522-1315, and let him know it is not acceptable for a U.S. company to fund the destruction of Panama's free-flowing rivers.

Model Letter:

Subject: Cancel Changuinola/Teribe Hydroelectric Projects

Dear Sir/Madam:

Please do not further fund or participate in the hydroelectric projects along the Changuinola and Bonyic Rivers in Bocas del Toro Province, Panama. These projects would have devastating consequences for the ecology of the free-flowing Changuinola and Bonyic Rivers and their tributaries and unacceptable impacts on the wildlife of adjacent La Amistad International Park, an internationally designated World Heritage site and part of the La Amistad Biosphere Reserve.

Your corporation's involvement in these projects is not in line with any code of business conduct and ethics. For AES in particular, its involvement runs completely counter to AES's "commitment to be environmentally responsible." The dams and infrastructure would devastate the region's unique native fish, negatively impact the entire ecosystem of the Changuinola/Teribe watershed and open this remote jungle for development. The Changuinola dams would also flood portions of indigenous Ngobe territory, displacing thousands of people. All participation in these projects by Empresas Publicas de Medellin, Hidroecologica del Teribe, and AES Corporation and its collaborators within the Changuinola Civil Works Joint Venture (Vattenfall AB of Sweden, E. Pihl & S?n A.S of Denmark, MT H?jgaard a/s of Denmark, and Alstom Brazil) should be terminated.

Please do not continue with or fund any further construction activities for these dams that would impact La Amistad Biosphere Reserve and rare species in the Changuinola/Teribe watershed. I urge you to protect the intact tropical rainforest and free-flowing streams of western Panama for the benefit of rare wildlife, indigenous people and international tourism.

Sincerely,

YOUR NAME HERE

Targets:
CEO AES Corporation, Paul, Hanrahan, 4300 Wilson Boulevard - 11th Floor, Arlington, VA 22203, information@aes.com, invest@aes.com, media@aes.com

Chairman of the Board AES Corporation, Richard, Darman, 4300 Wilson Boulevard - 11th Floor, Arlington, VA 22203, information@aes.com, invest@aes.com, media@aes.com

Alstom Brazil, Aloisio, Vasconcelos, Alameda Campinas 463-15? floor, Jardim Paulista, Sao Paulo, Brazil, br.power@crn.alstom.com

General Manager AES Panama, Javier, Giorgio, Apartado Postal 0816-01990, Panam?, Republica de Panama, LA.Development@aes.com

Project Director AES Changuinola S.A., Humberto, Gonzalez, Apartado Postal 0816-01990, Panama, Republica de Panama, LA.Development@aes.com

Hidroecologica del Teribe S.A., Hi-Tech Plaza Piso 6, Ciudad de Panama, Republica de Panama, +5072146366

Empresas Publicas de Medell?n, eeppm@eeppm.com

General Administrator National Environmental Authority of Panama (ANAM), Ligia, Castro de Doens, l.castro@anam.gob.pa

General Subadministrator National Environmental Authority of Panama (ANAM), Eduardo, Reyes, e.reyes@anam.gob.pa

Director of Managing Watersheds National Environmental Authority of Panama (ANAM), Hilda, Candanedo, h.candanedo@anam.gob.pa

Director of Protecting Environmental Quality National Environmental Authority of Panama (ANAM), Natalia, Young, n.young@anam.gob.pa

Director of Protected Areas National Environmental Authority of Panama (ANAM), Aleida Salazar, a.salazar@anam.gob.pa

Minister of Tourism, Ruben, Blades, Instituto Panamean de Turismo, Israel San Francisco Apdo. Postal: 4421 Zona 5, Panama, Republica de Panama

lunes, 17 de noviembre de 2008

Dam Nation

Dam Nation

Cultural Survival Quarterly Winter 2007

Panama is on a development spree, determined to get its share of the energy market by building hydroelectric projects across the country. Unfortunately, those projects don’t just dam the rivers; they damn indigenous peoples living alongside.

By Ellen L. Lutz

Isabel Becker is a tiny but tough Ngobe woman from the village of Charco la Pava in the Changuinola River valley in western Panama. She’s lived there all her life. At the age of 59, she has nine children and a multitude of grandchildren and great grandchildren. Isabel never had the opportunity to learn to read or write, and she speaks only her native Ngobe language. Until last year, she had only fleeting contact with Panama’s dominant society when she visited relatives in nearby Changuinola, the Panamanian headquarters for Chiquita Banana.

The Ngobe, who number about 170,000 people, are the largest indigenous group in Panama. The vast majority still live traditionally in Bocas del Toro, Chiriquí, and Veraguas provinces, where they sustain themselves through subsistence agriculture and fishing. They also grow cacao as a cash crop, which they sell to get basic necessities they do not produce, including sugar, clothing, and school supplies. Charco la Pava is home to about 367 people. The only ways in or out are on foot, by dugout canoe, or by helicopter.

Isabel’s wooden house was raised on pillars about six feet off the ground. It had curtained windows, a gently sloping tin roof, and generous eaves to shield the open-air living space below from the rain. Her large yard was cradled between the mountains and the Chanquinola River, and she had a fine view of the village on the other side. All in all, it was a handsome and comfortable home. But that was before the bulldozers came. An American corporation is developing a hydroelectric dam in Charco la Pava in partnership with the Panamanian government, and Isabel’s house stood in the way. So the government and the company pressured her into putting her thumbprint on a document she couldn’t read, and as soon as she did so they brought in a bulldozer to demolish her home.

The Chan 75 dam is being built by an affiliate of the Virginia-based AES Corporation, which received a concession from the government of Panama to build two hydroelectric dams along the Changuinola River in Bocas del Toro province. The river is in the buffer zone for the international La Amistad Biosphere Reserve, a UNESCO protected world heritage site that Panama shares with Costa Rica. It also is at the heart of Palo Seco Park, a national environmentally protected area.

Electricity from the dams will supply the ever-expanding appetite of Panama City, which today is a modern first-world city. About 3,500 indigenous people will be affected by the dams. AES Changuinola says that 1,005 people from four villages will need to move as a result of the inundation the dam will cause. For some the ensuing lake will swallow up their lands and homes. Others will be isolated by it. The dam will destroy their transportation routes and interfere with their food supply, preventing the migration of several fish species on which the people depend. But the government is eager to reap the economic rewards, and the company has already spent millions of dollars on the project. As illustrated by their treatment of Isabel Becker, they see indigenous people as a roadblock to be removed as quickly as possible.

Isabel’s story started in January 2007, when AES Changuinola flew her and some family members to the company’s offices in Panama City. She thought she was going for a paseo (a holiday). They took her on a city tour and then to AES’ offices on the 25th floor of an office tower. Isabel, having never been in a city before, had no idea how to use the elevator. Once inside their offices, Humberto Gonzalez, the company’s chairman, and Celia Bonilla, a Ngobe woman who works for AES, told her that they needed to get her agreement to sell them her land that same day. Isabel understood them to mean that she could not leave their offices unless she signed. With no money for the return flight, she was dependent on the company for transportation. After 10 hours in the office she finally put her thumbprint on a prepared Spanish-language document she could not read so that she could go home.

The company knew, of course, that the circumstances of her signing were questionable, so, between January and October, they took a carrot-and-stick approach to convincing her to leave. Somebody would come to her house and threaten that the police were about to move her off the land. A day later, someone else would come with food for the entire family and promises about their bright future after she moved. The mayor of Changuinola tried to convince her to agree, as did the governor of Bocas del Toro province. They assured her that they were looking after her interests by making sure she got the best deal possible, but that she had to leave.

On July 20, representatives from the Changuinola mayor’s office and a bulldozer pulled up to the edge of her house. Isabel, who then was sick in bed, fainted. The mayor’s representatives took her to the hospital in Changuinola to be checked out, and then to the house that AES had built for her. Thinking the bulldozer was knocking her house down right then and there (they weren’t; it was just intended to scare her), she begged them to let her go home right away, but the mayor’s representative said she had to stay in town. She stayed up all night crying.

In August and September the company persuaded two of Isabel’s nearby daughters to sign and knocked down their houses. The intimidation then intensified to the point that in late October Isabel gave in. She “signed” a second document of sale of her land (again in unreadable Spanish) that increased the amount of money she was offered. Isabel still doesn’t understand what she sold, but it is clear that AES believes it now owns all of Isabel’s and her family members’ land.

The chain of events after she signed is still not clear. One of her daughters said that they made her leave the next day, but by other accounts she was given a week to abandon her home. Either way, she was totally unprepared when the police came one morning and made her leave with nothing but the clothes on her back. Then the bulldozers came in and crushed her house into splinters, while other workers burned her outbuilding to the ground. Her family came back later to retrieve as many of her animals as they could find, but she lost all of her possessions, one of her pigs, and some of her chickens.

The morality of the company’s action is clearly bankrupt, but its legal standing is also questionable. The lands Isabel “sold” did not belong exclusively to her. Rather they belonged collectively to all the members of her family who had rights to use them. According to Philip Young, a University of Oregon professor of anthropology who has worked with the Ngobe for many years, the ownership of the land depends on several things, most importantly, where family members live, their relationship to other family members, and the availability of land. Isabel’s granddaughter and her husband have recognized use rights to several parcels that AES is now holding, and they have filed a claim against AES to regain their rights to that land.

But whatever happens in a court of law, for now AES has the upper hand in Panama’s court of public opinion. The company has been publishing fullpage ads in La Prensa and other Panamanian newspapers showing all the benefits the new dam will bring to the country and to the Ngobe people. One ad shows a picture of a traditional Ngobe home followed by a more Western-looking house, as if to suggest how much better off Ngobe people will be. Another ad shows Isabel Becker in her new house in a poor suburb of Changuinola. The company maintains she is now happy; her family says she is traumatized and depressed and has no sense of what the future will bring.

As that public relations campaign indicates, the company and the government have virtually unlimited resources on their side; the Ngobe have no resources at all and no experience in defending their rights. For that matter, they are largely unaware of what their rights are in this situation. To help offset that deficit, I traveled to Panama to work with Lucia Lasso, an anthropologist working for the Panamanian NGO the Alliance for Conservation and Development (ACD), which opposes the dam. On November 7, Lucia and I hiked into Charco la Pava to meet the Ngobe families affected by the dam, to reinforce their understanding of their rights, and to offer legal help. That night, long after Lucia and I had settled into our hammocks, village leaders sat up preparing for a meeting the next day with government officials.

The following morning, Panama’s National Authority for the Environment (ANAM) flew in seven or eight of its highest officials by helicopter to meet with the community. ANAM ostensibly is responsible for the environmental impact of the dam and the relocation of indigenous peoples, but is acting more like a handmaiden to the hydroelectric company and the political interests that back it. The official delegation was joined by two representatives from the Defensoria del Pueblo (an ombudsman office that is supposed to guard against violations of human rights), AES-Changuinola chair Humberto Gonzalez, the governor of Bocos del Toro, a priest, and a high-ranking police officer.

The villagers’ organization was an amazing thing to see. Ernesto Lopez (a Ngobe village teacher) took the lead role: he began by rejecting the government’s agenda, which was printed in Spanish, and insisting that as the government was in the casa de los Ngobe, the Ngobe should set the agenda. Their agenda was to present ANAM with a community petition to stop the dam. Some negotiation ensued, and the community agreed to listen to what Gonzalez had to say as long as ANAM listened respectfully to them.

Using a portable generator (the village has no electricity), a digital projector, a laptop, and a screen, Gonzalez gave his standard, prepackaged Power-Point presentation to explain how hydroelectric dams are built and how they work. For the local people the presentation was an absurdity, both in form and in timing. Gomez spoke only in Spanish, which many Ngobe do not understand, and his presentation addressed none of their concerns. Moreover, AES had already plowed the roads and was digging the foundation for one side of the dam on Isabel’s land, even though Francisco Santos, the head of the family that lives on the opposite bank, has not caved into pressure to sell and leave their land.

When Gonzalez finished, one after another of the community members stood up to declare his or her opposition to construction going forward until the Ngobe had a chance to fully understand what was happening and decide upon a collective response. A woman named Elin Abrego said, “I have a finca [farm plot] on the other side of the river that I will not be able to get to. I won’t have water for my animals or the ability to move about freely. They are eroding the soil so my crops won’t be able to grow. Before the dam, ANAM never came. Once the dam project started being built, they came, but only to support the dam.”

She was followed by Alejandro Jimenez, who said, “The company offered our family money to conduct studies on our land.Now look: the company has dug away all the earth right up to the edge of my house. The company said it only wanted to negotiate with one member of the family, so my brother told them he was the spokesperson for our family. He signed a contract to allow them to conduct the studies, and he took their money. [The contract was for $1,005.] I have lived here for 50 years. I have asked the government for some form of pension, but they tell me I’m not entitled to a pension. But they have no problem pushing me off of my land.” Of about 24 speakers from 6 communities (the 4 that will be inundated, plus Nance de Riscó and Guayacán), only 3 people spoke in favor of the project. The applause for those who opposed the dam was thunderous. There was no applause for those in favor of the dam.

At the end of the meeting, Eduardo Reyes, subadministrator for ANAM, stood up and promoted the dam’s benefits to the people. He said the communities would be given similar land to what they have. These lands, he said, would be in parts of Palo Seco Park that are not under the highest levels of environmental protection, but he could not identify which lands those would be. He claimed that the dam would give them opportunities for training for jobs in ecotourism and would improve their opportunities for education and health care. When it was her turn to speak, the governor of Bocos del Toro repeated ANAM’s claims. She was particularly insulting when it came to Isabel Becker, who was not present. The governor claimed Isabel was “clearly happy with the outcome of her negotiations,” and that no one in the community had the right to speak for her. The government’s presentations were pure paternalism. It was as if they had not heard a word of what the Ngobe people had said. I got the sense from some of the ANAM group that they genuinely want to “help the poor Indians,” but others appeared to be in bed with AES, which is now behind schedule and in a hurry to get the construction back on track.

After the meeting, Lucia and I, along with several other ACD team members who had hiked in that morning, met with the leaders from all the Ngobe communities. They were jubilant. This was the most resistance the Ngobe had ever offered to anything, and they were clearly proud of what they had accomplished. Susana Serracín, an environmental lawyer working with ACD, got signed affidavits from a sufficient number of the community leaders to present a case before the country’s constitutional court—an action that Cultural Survival and ACD have now taken. We also got signed affidavits from community representatives to bring a petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights if we do not have success in Panama’s courts.

The Ngobe aren’t the only indigenous people affected by hydroelectric dam development in Panama. In neighboring Chiriquí province where many Ngobe, Buglé, and other indigenous communities live, 47 hydroelectric projects have been proposed, of which 22 have already been approved by ANAM. Indigenous communities in eastern Panama are facing similar pressure.

Closer to Changuinola, the 3,800 Naso people who have lived along the nearby Teribe River for more than a century are in the same predicament as the Ngobe, and we offered them similar support. A two-hour boat ride up the Teribe River brought Lucia, Susana, and me to Siey Yic, the Naso capital. Representatives of all 11 Naso villages had walked as much as four hours to attend the first-ever meeting with a representative of the president of Panama. Unfortunately, the representative’s father died on the eve of the planned meeting, and without any means of communicating throughout the region, there was no way to notify all the people that the meeting was cancelled. So, instead, our small delegation became the focus of the meeting.

The Naso communities are facing the destruction of their way of life by the Bonyik hydroelectric dam, which is being built by a Colombian company called Empresas Publicas de Medellin. The dam has caused a huge division within the community. Members who no longer maintain their traditional culture and who live in the towns surrounding Changuinola are in favor of the project because they believe it will provide them financial gain and other benefits.

But the Naso who still live in their traditional territory vehemently oppose the dam. Their lives revolve around the river, which they use for fishing and transportation. The biggest issue for them is the government’s failure to demarcate their territory and give them a comarca (similar to a reservation). Building the dam before their lands are even recognized is clearly wrong, and they are committed to resisting it until their lands are protected by the law.

The dam project has also divided the community with respect to its leadership. The Naso have the only king in the Americas. A former king, Tito Santana, negotiated with the government without informing his people, and allegedly accepted a lot of money for doing so. In response, the community deposed him and named a new king, Rey Valentin Santana. The people who live in the traditional territory now recognize him, while those who have moved to Changinola remain loyal to Tito Santana. (While we were attending the meeting in Siey Yic, the Naso community living in El Silencio on the outskirts of Changuinola held its own demonstration in favor of the Bonyik dam.)

At the start of our meeting, the people were summoned to order with the traditional blowing of the conch shell. King Valentine Santana offered opening remarks in Naso, saying that he particularly was happy about the opportunity for the Naso community to come together, and that he welcomed our delegation as “gente grande”—people with the capacity to help. He urged his people to remain united in this cause to stop the dam and to retain the Naso way of life. Aldolfo Villagra, president of the Naso People’s Council, then explained that the Naso have been fighting against the government over the dam since 2004. They have already achieved a lot by opening up space for negotiation.

Naso community members then testified about their concerns. One pointed out that in 1968 Kuna and Embera peoples gave up land for the Bayano dam in Panama province in exchange for promises of comparable lands and other forms of compensation. What they actually received was far less than what was promised.

Others were offended that the president of the republic, Martin Torrijos, came to Bonyik to overturn the dam project’s first stone. Wilma Aguilar said that road workers came onto her property on Rancho Quemado to clear land for the road. When she asked them who had given them permission to enter her land, they told her the land was untitled and she had no control over it. Alicia Quintero said that in June, seven people came onto her land one afternoon and told her they were going to build the road there. She told them it was her land, and she would not allow it. Three days later, they came back and cut down all her trees and crops. She wanted to know who was going to pay for the damage.

Meanwhile, recognizing the rapacious nature of the opposition, the Naso have started blockading the movement of construction vehicles into the dam site. They drafted a petition signed by 600 Naso calling for the creation of a Naso comarca, a halt to dam construction, an end to the expansion of a private cattle ranch that has been moving into Naso territory, and the government’s recognition of Valentine Santana as the leader of the Naso people. They sent the petition to the government on October 28. The meeting we witnessed was supposed to be the government’s response; in the absence of the government’s representative, it was unclear what would happen next. But just as we were leaving Changuinola the police rounded up six Naso men who had been observed at the blockades and threw them in jail, where they were held over a long holiday weekend.

The Naso are comfortable with conflict and are accustomed to standing up to the government. For the Ngobe, on the other hand, asserting their rights does not come easily. They are used to dealing with the government through avoidance. Yet both communities are gaining greater awareness of the consequences of inaction and of their rights to their lands, which were recently upheld in the new United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as well as in the case law of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (whose decisions are binding on Panama).With that knowledge, they are becoming more determined to gain control over their futures. Panama’s indigenous communities are tired of promises and deception, and they are increasingly finding their voice.

For Cultural Survival, the next steps are to continue monitoring the situation, while providing all the support we can to our ACD colleagues as they pursue legal remedies in Panama’s courts. And, if necessary, we will ensure that the cases of the Ngobe and Naso peoples are heard by the human rights bodies of the Organization of American States.

Ellen L. Lutz is the executive director of Cultural Survival.

Ngobe: We are desperate and abandoned

Ngobe: We are desperate and abandoned

Earlier this month, the Ngobe of western Panama wrote an urgent appeal that asks the international community for immediate assistance. For some time now they’ve been struggling to stop the US-based company AES from building the Changuinola dam on their traditional lands.

In recent months, the situation has become hopeless for the Ngobe. According to the appeal, the National Police have taken over their community and they are “being subjected to cruel violations of our fundamental human rights.” On top of that, the government has un-communicated them from the world; and they are quite literally being forced to sign away their lands, rights, and livelihoods — “under threat of arms and death.”

Meanwhile, according to Cultural Survival’s latest newsletter, AES has started using lights to work on the Changuinola dam around the clock.

The Ngobe say, “We are desperate and abandoned. The government reiterates that we have no rights, and that they have the power to do as they wish… We ask, please do all in your power to stop this barbarism. Our lives and land depend on being able to stop these violations.”

Cultural Survival has set up two things you can do:

1. Send a letter to persuade Panama’s environmental agency, ANAM, which commissioned AES-Changuinola to build the dam, to halt construction and set up a process that guarantees that the Ngobe peoples’ human rights, now and in the future, are respected.

2. Sign a petition which makes a similar plea to ANAM

3. Global Response also put together a list of contacts for AES. Feel free to write them too.

Photo by ACDPanama

Letter of the Ngobe People affected by Dam Chan 75 of the Company AES Changuinola

We send this letter as an urgent plea for international support and help. The Ngäbe located in the community of Charco La Pava, District of Changuinola, Province of Bocas del Toro, Republic of Panama, are being subjected to cruel violations of our fundamental human rights. The community has been taken over by the national police, whom have proceeded to repeatedly use deadly force against us, torturing community leaders, abusing us through physical and verbal agressions, destroying our property, land and homes, and controlling through violence all aspects of our daily life.

The Company AES Changuinola, which wishes to develop a Hydro-electric plant in the Changuinola River, the contractor company of swedish origins CCW (Changuinola Civil Works), in complicity with the governor of the Province of Bocas del Toro, Esther Mena Chiu, of the Mayor Virginia Abrego, regional ANAM representative Valentin Pineda, have all participated directly in the violation of our human rights, dignity and humanity. AES Changuinola personnel involved are area responsible Engineer Thais Mejia, as well as Rodolfo Ayarza, Beanvides Morales y Lidami Morales. The National Police has worked through the National Police Unit, Zone 9 of Changuinola, under the orders of Jose Maneul Rios.

Among the examples of human rights violations: the National Police through a Riot Control Unit beat, threatened and dragged children, pregnant women and elderly people of the community, publicly stripped nude Ana Castillo, and then dragged and beat her through the streets, threatened Francisco Santos with death, forced community members with armed guards to sign documents whose content they did not know, set fire to the house of Isabel Becker and caused deadly injuries to the boy Ivan Miranda due to a police baton blow to the face.

The Company AES Changuinola together with the National Government, and under the armed vigilence of police officers, imposed two alternatives: accept 2 thousand dollars as payment for each hectare of land (which equals to 20 cents per square meter), or be evicted by force on the first week of April of 2008. We are being forced to negotiate under threat of arms and death.

We are desperate and abandoned. The government reiterates that we have no rights, and that they have the power to do as they wish.

They have us uncommunicated and dont let anyone visit the community. They have tortured, evicted and threatened to death our leaders, have destroyed our lands, forests and animals which are the source of food for our people. We live in constant fear because there is no law that protects us in these places.

We ask, please do all in your power to stop this barbarism. Our lives and land depend on being able to stop these violations.

Ernesto Lopez

Ngöbes Communities affected by the construction of the Hydro-electric plants. we extracted this information from the declarations made by Ana Castillo done on the 9th of March of 2008.

1 Mrs Castillo and her sons, 12 year old Anselmo Santos, 10 year old Didier Santos and 6 year old Irene Santos, went where most of the communisty was protecting itself from the explotions, when they were violently supressed, as Mrs Castillo narrates: “my kids and I went to where the others were at the entrance to the community asking the AES employees to please not to harm their crops, when by orders of Engineers Rodolfo Ayarza and Lidami Morales, the police hit and kicked me, they grabbed me by my hairs, they hit my children with their baton, I only wanted them not to harm my crops”.

2 “When I was on the floor the police stepped on my chest with his boot while he laughed”.

3 “One police officer grabbed my clothes and laughing tore it off, he stripped me naked publicly, and dragged me naked to the police quarters. Everybody saw me naked and I felt embarassed”.

4 Mrs. Ana Castillo was verbally abused, stripped nude, beaten and exposed to the public by the National Police Units, Zone 9 of the Changuinola Police headquarters, under the order of police chief Jose Manuel Rios. Once detained in the Police quarters, Mrs. Castillo was again verbally abused, threatened and admonished by the police units, and as she narrates: “in the police quarters I wanted water, and cried together with my children. The police told me: you are stupid and rude..what rights are you going to demand? You have no rights, next time we will take everything by force. You want water? Then he laughed and hit me and didnt give me water, when I spoke I was beaten, and told me I had to sign”.

5 The minors, 12 year old Anselmo Santos, 10 year old Didier Santos and 6 year old Irene Santos, whom accompanied their mother, were detained and beaten next to their mother by the National Police. “the police in the quarter would ask my child if he wanted to eat and would then laugh, indians like you have no rights”.

6 “I dont want to see the police, I live here, all our forefathers lived here, if they take me out of here I dont know where I´ll live, I only have this land, when I bathe in the river the police look at me, I want them to leave”.

miércoles, 12 de noviembre de 2008

Comunidades en todo el país rechazan torres de antenas de telefonía celular en zonas residenciales Comunidades rechazan la instalación de Antenas

Comunidades en todo el país rechazan torres de antenas de telefonía celular en zonas residenciales

Comunidades rechazan la instalación inconsulta de antenas, piden la suspensión inmediata de toda las autorizadas los últimos meses y exigen una nueva reglamentación ajusada a criterios científicos.


Comunidades de todo Panamá protestan por antenas de telefonia celular en áreas resienciales

COMUNICADO

Las personas abajo firmantes, en representación de las comunidades afectadas por el emplazamiento de torres de antenas de telefonía celular en las zonas donde normalmente habitan,

CONSIDERANDO QUE:

1.El pasado 7 de mayo de 2008, las empresas DIGICEL PANAMÁ y CLARO PANAMÁ S. A. ganaron una concesión administrativa por parte del Estado panameño, para operar dos nuevas bandas de telefonía celular en los próximos 20 años, al ofrecer un poco más de 86 millones de dólares cada una por la licencia correspondiente;

2.Dichas empresas, para iniciar operaciones a fin de año, han estado instalando cerca de mil torres de antenas de telefonía celular en toda la República, sobre todo en áreas residenciales, violentando la Ley No 6 de 1º de febrero de 2006, la cual reglamenta el ordenamiento territorial para el desarrollo urbano del país y exige claramente la consulta ciudadana para el cambio de zonificación y el establecimiento de usos complementarios (escuelas, iglesias, centros culturales) en las zonas residenciales;

3.La mencionada instalación ha estado amparada por la Resolución No 1056 de 29 de noviembre de 2007 de la Dirección General de Salud Pública del Ministerio de Salud (MINSA), la cual contraría abiertamente la Ley No 6 de 2006 ya señalada, exigiendo a las empresas correspondientes que las antenas guarden apenas una distancia de 6 metros de la propiedades colindantes y 50 metros de centros educativos, hospitales y asilos, así como “realizar actividades informativas previas a los vecinos que residen a menos de 100 metros sobre los beneficios de las antenas, los efectos a la salud y las buenas prácticas en su operación”;

4.En la gran mayoría de los casos, la instalación de las precitadas antenas no fue precedida de una actividad de consulta a las comunidades donde fueron o son emplazadas y, en no pocos, ni siquiera cumplieron con los requisitos exigidos por la Resolución No 1056 de 2007;

5.Lo anterior generó un profundo descontento, de manera que las comunidades se han visto abocadas a interponer recursos legales (con su consiguiente fallo adversos ante las autoridades de salud), a realizar acciones de protesta y a acudir el pasado 22 de octubre a sesión especial de la Comisión de Población, Ambiente y Desarrollo de la Asamblea Nacional a solicitar a los señores diputados que derogase la Resolución No 1056 de 2007 y legislara en función del principio precautorio y de protección a la salud de los moradores de áreas residenciales;

6.Los diputados de la Comisión de Población, Ambiente y Desarrollo de la Asamblea Nacional decidieron, en presencia de las comunidades afectadas y autoridades del MINSA, ANAM y ASEP, solicitar al MINSA la anulación de la precitada Resolución No 1056 de 2007 y su sustitución por una nueva que consulte a las comunidades y a esta Comisión y exija estudios de impacto ambiental, hasta tanto la Asamblea legisle al respecto.

7.Sin embargo, el Presidente de la República, en conjunto con la Ministra de Salud, ya habían emitido el día anterior, el Decreto Ejecutivo No 562 (publicado en la Gaceta Oficial del 22 de octubre de 2008), el cual deroga la Resolución No 1056 de 2007 de la Dirección General de Salud Pública del Ministerio de Salud, traspasando a la Autoridad de los Servicios Públicos (ASEP) el deber de reglamentar la instalación e inspección de torres para telefonía celular;

8.La ASEP, en efecto, procede a reglamentar la materia a través de la Resolución AN No 2161 de 28 de octubre de 2008, copiando el mismo texto de la fenecida y objetada Resolución No 1056 de 2007, sin consultar ni a la Comisión de Población, Ambiente y Desarrollo de la Asamblea Nacional ni a las comunidades afectadas, pero sí protegiendo los intereses de las nuevas empresas concesionarias, al “ordenar” a los concesionarios anteriores (llámese Movistar y Cable & Wireless) que ofrezcan y permitan “el acceso y uso compartido de sus infraestructuras y torres que se instalen para soportarantenas”. Ni suspende ni revisa el emplazamiento de las antenas ya existentes o en proceso de instalación.

RESUELVE:

1.Solicitar a la ASEP, en función del principio precautorio, el interés público y el profundo malestar que embarga a un sinnúmero de comunidades a lo ancho y largo del territorio nacional, a que emita una nueva Resolución donde ordene suspender de manera inmediata todas las instalaciones de antenas de telefonía celular realizadas en los últimos 6 meses o en proceso de emplazamiento;

2.Exigir a la ASEP, se revise caso por caso, el cumplimiento de la Ley No 6 de 2006, que reglamenta el ordenamiento territorial para el desarrollo urbano, de manera que se respeten las normas sobre zonificación y cambio de zonificación que exigen claramente la “consulta ciudadana” efectiva y decisoria;

3.Requerir de la ASEP que emita una nueva reglamentación, de carácter provisional hasta tanto la Asamblea legisle al respecto, para la instalación de torres para antenas de telecomunicaciones que consulte a las comunidades afectadas en su derecho autónomo y a la Comisión de Ambiente de la Asamblea Nacional, tal como se acordó el pasado 22 de octubre de 2008, en su presencia;

4.Que la ASEP obligue a las empresas ya instaladas, a compartir sus infraestructuras y torres con las nuevas empresas;

5.Que la ASEP realice mediciones cada dos meses, para corroborar que la densidad y potencia de las antenas cumple con los valores mínimamente aceptados, por Institutos de Investigación reconocidos internacionalmente, con participación de técnicos independientes propuestos por las universidades públicas.

6.Instar a la Asamblea Nacional, a través de la Comisión de Población, Ambiente y Desarrollo, a que emita una ley que regule en propiedad la materia y que prevenga en contra de la contaminación electromagnética y sus posibles daños a la salud de las personas, que tome en cuenta lo siguiente:

a)Aplicación efectiva de los principios precautorio y de “la mínima emisión técnicamente posible”.

b)Establecimiento de valores límites que impidan que se produzcan cambios celulares de ningún tipo en el cuerpo humano.

c)Prohibición de antenas e infraestructuras de telecomunicaciones en zonas residenciales; máximo control en áreas de ubicación de escuelas, hospitales, asilos, a una distancia no inferior de 3 kms, como exige la Unión Europea.

d)Establecimiento de un mapa radioeléctrico urbano que refleje el conjunto de emisiones radioeléctricas en tiempo real y de forma continua y su monitoreo sistemático en conjunto con técnicos independientes de las universidades públicas.

e)Minimización de impactos paisajísticos, visuales y ambientales en el medio rural y urbano.

f)Estudio de diversas localizaciones alternativas para la ubicación de una estación base y optimización en el uso de las ya existentes.

g)Descongestión de áreas de saturación sobreexpuestas.

h)Creación de Comisión interinstitucional con participación de la sociedad civil que revise la aplicación de esta ley.

i)Elaboración de un Código de buenas prácticas y Campañas contra el abuso del celular y conductas adictivas al mismo, sobrepoblación adolescente y adulta; limitar su uso a niños y adolescentes.

Dado en la Ciudad de Panamá, a los seis días del mes de noviembre de dos mil ocho.

Por la Comunidad de Villas de las AcaciasPor la Comunidad de La Rotonda, Villa Zaíta

Por la Comunidad de Villa MagnaPor la Comunidad de Gonzalillo

Por la Comunidad de Palmas BellasPor la Comunidad de Cerro Viento

Por la Comunidad de Villas AlpinasPor las Comunidades afectadas de Chiriquí

Por la Comunidad de Villa ZaítaPor las comunidades afectadas de Veraguas

Por la Comunidad de Bello HorizontePor las comunidades afectadas de Chorrera

Por la Comunidad de Altos de la CalzadaPor las comunidades de La 24 de diciembre

Por las comunidades de Juan Díaz

Por las comunidades de Coclé

LA

ALIANZA NACIONAL POR LOS DERECHOS HUMANOS

(LA SALUD Y LA VIDA), CONTRA LAS ANTENAS

martes, 11 de noviembre de 2008

Megaproyecto hidroeléctrico dinamizará economía bocatoreña, señala ministro de trabajo, Edwin Salamin

Megaproyecto hidroeléctrico dinamizará economía bocatoreña, señala ministro de trabajo, Edwin Salamin / 10/19/2007

Como beneficiosos para el país, y en especial para Bocas del Toro, calificó el Ministro de Trabajo, Edwin Salamin, a los megaproyectos que se llevarán a cabo en esta provincia, tales como la construcción de la hidroeléctrica CHAN 75, entre otros proyectos de interés social y económico.

“Estas inversiones son bienvenidas y tendrán un impacto directo en la empleomanía de Bocas del Toro”, señaló el Ministro, quien se refirió al efecto que desde ya se viene experimentando en la provincia con el inicio de las obras civiles del proyecto CHAN 75.

El titular de la cartera de trabajo, expresó su satisfacción por los avances que se han experimentado en la provincia, en materia laboral, señalando además “que el Ministerio apoya a la empresa privada, al sector obrero y a la provincia, para que todos sean partícipes de este crecimiento”, refiriendo al desarrollo hidroeléctrico que se iniciará con la construcción de la hidroeléctrica.

De acuerdo a información de la empresa, más del 84% del personal contratado para las primeras obras del Proyecto Hidroeléctrico CHAN 75 provienen de diversas comunidades de Bocas del Toro, en su mayoría, indígenas.

Se espera que el Proyecto genere aproximadamente unos 4,500 empleos directos e indirectos, durante su construcción que podrá tomar 3 años, a un costo de 300 millones de dólares.

Las declaraciones del Ministro de Trabajo Edwin Salamín, se dieron durante un desayuno celebrado con empresarios de la Cámara de Comercio de Bocas del Toro, representantes de empresas y funcionarios de instituciones públicas.

Santas confusiones entre inundaciones, represas e hidroeléctricas

Santas confusiones entre inundaciones, represas e hidroeléctricas

El artículo abajo mostrado, aparecido en La Prensa, de autoría del señór V. J. Fábrega nos muestra lo que es desinformar a las personas incautas por acción en sus palabras o por la omisión de información que manipulada en uno u otro sentido puede hacer ver verdades donde hay mentiras y mentiras donde hay verdades y aún peor, estar al margen de estos dos paradigmas y simplemente decir disparates, como calificamos el contenido del artículo de este señor.

Primero que los ríos no son salvajes si no han sido represados por el hombre, ni son domados si se les controla su flujo hidráulico. Estas palabras fuera de contexto sólo reflejan ignorancia y mercantilismo de los máximos valores de la naturaleza, como si el mundo y el universo existieran sólo para el hombre. Qué arrogancia bíblica! Nosotros sabemos que las aguas de los ríos al llegar al mar producen explosión de nuevas formas de vida de las cuales incluso dependen muchas industrias en el mundo, sin embargo este señor indica que las aguas de los ríos panameños se desperdician al llegar al mar! Qué barbaridad! Ya decía el gran Sócrates: “La ignorancia es el peor de los pecados”.

Segundo, que los ríos tampoco existen para ser encajonados, ni represados como razón de su existencia! La desgracia de los ríos ha sido que la especie humana no los ha respetado y los ha contaminado y le ha usurpado su bregar hacia el mar. Una verdadera civilización respetaría no sólo las corrientes de los ríos y mantendría la pureza de sus aguas, también respetaría sus riberas, su hermoso paisaje y las formas de vida que han evolucionado en sus aguas.

La tercera comparación y mensaje de cierre del artículo aludido, es simplemente abominable al decir que el agua de los ríos es nuestro petróleo. Nosotros quisiéramos ver qué formas de vida han evolucionado en una corriente de petróleo, y cuántos litro de petróleo requiere el cuerpo diariamente y en cuántos charcos de petróleo puro se baña en los candentes veranos de Panamá y cuánta vida adicional produciría un río salvaje de petróleo llegando al mar! Y si nos vamos al costo por unidad. El agua es decenas de veces más costosa que el petróleo y la regalamos para que estas empresas lucren con nuestro recursos hídricos y de paso destruyan los ecosistemas acuáticos y la vida de mucha gente humilde que no tiene forma de defenderse de estos nuevos depredadores ambientales.

Este autor tiene una confusión terrible entre inundaciones, contaminación, desvíos de aguas, represas e hidroeléctricas y nosotros como difusores de información nos sentimos culpables, ya que no hemos sido capaces de aclararle al público que el agua no es petróleo y que los ríos no son salvajes sin estructuras hidráulicas y que los proyectos generadores de energía hidráulica desde hace mucho tiempo son considerados terribles artefactos causantes de enormes daños ambientales y sociales y su uso debe ser la última opción, antes del uso de verdaderas energías renovables como son la energía solar, energía eólica, maremotriz, etc. La eficiencia energética debe ser la primera opción para que no exista la necesidad de construir at infinitum infraestructuras de generación eléctrica, que sea cual sea, siempre que sea necesaria, indica que la humanidad sigue rumbo a la extinción antes de la cuenta.

En este momento las hidroeléctricas y termoeléctricas que se construyen por aquí y acullá tienen en la mira el mercado spot y de contrato de Centroamérica y en ningún momento están pensados en función de desarrollo sostenible, ni disminución de costos al consumidor, sino en el lucro que produce la industria de la generación eléctrica hidráulica y térmica.

Santas confusiones! Hasta cuándo!

———————————————-

ENERGÍA

Inundaciones, represas e hidroeléctricas

Víctor J. Fábrega V.
opinion@prensa.com

En los años siguientes a la inauguración del Canal de Panamá, el río Chagres tuvo muchas crecidas, entre ellas una que por tres días paralizó el tránsito marítimo y obligó a abrir las compuertas para desalojar el enorme caudal que amenazaba las obras de infraestructura del Canal. De inmediato se planificó y construyó la represa de Madden, creando el embalse de Alajuela con el objetivo de controlar las crecidas del Chagres.

Para aprovechar al máximo esa estructura se instalaron turbinas para generar electricidad económica, limpia y eterna. Ahora, unos 70 años después, esas mismas turbinas continúan funcionando.

Las represas sirven para controlar las inundaciones, porque el agua de los aguaceros torrenciales se acumula en el embalse y se descarga en días o semanas, en vez de en unas pocas horas o días.

Hoy, esa reserva de agua sirve, además, para mejorar el nivel del lago Gatún por razón del creciente tránsito marítimo, para abastecer el acueducto de la ciudad de Panamá y alrededores, para recreación y para pesca de peces para consumo propio y venta comercial, beneficiando sobre todo a los vecinos del área. ¡Se “domó” y se está aprovechando el Chagres!

Del total de agua que cae en la cuenca de un río, una parte se evapora, otra es absorbida por la vegetación y la tierra, y al resto le toma cierto tiempo correr y llegar al cauce del río. A medida que avanza la expansión de los asentamientos humanos, la deforestación y la pavimentación, la vegetación y el terreno absorben menos, y el resto del agua en mayor cantidad llega mucho más rápido al río, aumentando rápida y significativamente su caudal. Si el río es “salvaje”, con cauce tortuoso o lleno de basura, o estrecho, y no tiene la capacidad de desalojar rápidamente el agua, esta se desborda e inunda las áreas adyacentes afectando todo lo que encuentra a su paso.

En las áreas cercanas a la costa la situación empeora cuando las crecidas coinciden con mareas altas.

Las inundaciones que afectan al mundo entero son controlables, pero a medida que aumenta la población van a empeorar, a menos que se haga algo al respecto. Por esto, cada vez con mayor frecuencia escucharemos: “nunca antes el río había crecido tanto”. El mantenimiento de los cauces de los ríos y dependiendo de su localización, el dragado del cauce, la construcción de diques, pavimentación, etc., puede ser necesaria y costosa, pero mucho menos cuando tiene embalses que retarden la salida del agua.

En Panamá, casi todos nuestros ríos son “salvajes”, sus aguas corren directo al mar, siendo poco aprovechadas y creando frecuentes tragedias para muchos.

Tenemos un gran potencial para crear embalses y construir grandes hidroeléctricas y minihidroeléctricas, con o sin embalses. Estas y el medio ambiente se complementan. Sus operadores, con el respaldo de todas las instituciones del Gobierno, son los primeros en preservar las cuencas para proteger el medio ambiente que protege el recurso agua, y viceversa. Debemos desarrollar todo nuestro potencial hidroeléctrico lo antes posible, pues económica y ambientalmente son nuestra mejor opción a corto, mediano y largo plazo para generación de electricidad, control de inundaciones y preservación de las cuencas de los ríos; además de irrigación de nuestros campos agrícolas, consumo humano, pesca comercial y deportiva y recreación, entre otros muchos beneficios y pocos perjuicios. Los afectados por su construcción u operación deben ser compensados adecuadamente.

La energía hidroeléctrica puede complementarse con generadores movidos por el viento, paneles solares, geotérmicas y termoeléctricas movidas por combustibles fósiles; aunque creo que estas últimas, por el alto costo del petróleo y del carbón, además de su alta producción de gases contaminantes, sería preferible tenerlas subsidiadas como reserva. ¡El agua bien aprovechada es nuestro petróleo!

Inundaciones, represas e hidroeléctricas

Inundaciones, represas e hidroeléctricas

Víctor J. Fábrega V.
opinion@prensa.com

En los años siguientes a la inauguración del Canal de Panamá, el río Chagres tuvo muchas crecidas, entre ellas una que por tres días paralizó el tránsito marítimo y obligó a abrir las compuertas para desalojar el enorme caudal que amenazaba las obras de infraestructura del Canal. De inmediato se planificó y construyó la represa de Madden, creando el embalse de Alajuela con el objetivo de controlar las crecidas del Chagres.

Para aprovechar al máximo esa estructura se instalaron turbinas para generar electricidad económica, limpia y eterna. Ahora, unos 70 años después, esas mismas turbinas continúan funcionando.

Las represas sirven para controlar las inundaciones, porque el agua de los aguaceros torrenciales se acumula en el embalse y se descarga en días o semanas, en vez de en unas pocas horas o días.

Hoy, esa reserva de agua sirve, además, para mejorar el nivel del lago Gatún por razón del creciente tránsito marítimo, para abastecer el acueducto de la ciudad de Panamá y alrededores, para recreación y para pesca de peces para consumo propio y venta comercial, beneficiando sobre todo a los vecinos del área. ¡Se “domó” y se está aprovechando el Chagres!

Del total de agua que cae en la cuenca de un río, una parte se evapora, otra es absorbida por la vegetación y la tierra, y al resto le toma cierto tiempo correr y llegar al cauce del río. A medida que avanza la expansión de los asentamientos humanos, la deforestación y la pavimentación, la vegetación y el terreno absorben menos, y el resto del agua en mayor cantidad llega mucho más rápido al río, aumentando rápida y significativamente su caudal. Si el río es “salvaje”, con cauce tortuoso o lleno de basura, o estrecho, y no tiene la capacidad de desalojar rápidamente el agua, esta se desborda e inunda las áreas adyacentes afectando todo lo que encuentra a su paso.

En las áreas cercanas a la costa la situación empeora cuando las crecidas coinciden con mareas altas.

Las inundaciones que afectan al mundo entero son controlables, pero a medida que aumenta la población van a empeorar, a menos que se haga algo al respecto. Por esto, cada vez con mayor frecuencia escucharemos: “nunca antes el río había crecido tanto”. El mantenimiento de los cauces de los ríos y dependiendo de su localización, el dragado del cauce, la construcción de diques, pavimentación, etc., puede ser necesaria y costosa, pero mucho menos cuando tiene embalses que retarden la salida del agua.

En Panamá, casi todos nuestros ríos son “salvajes”, sus aguas corren directo al mar, siendo poco aprovechadas y creando frecuentes tragedias para muchos.

Tenemos un gran potencial para crear embalses y construir grandes hidroeléctricas y minihidroeléctricas, con o sin embalses. Estas y el medio ambiente se complementan. Sus operadores, con el respaldo de todas las instituciones del Gobierno, son los primeros en preservar las cuencas para proteger el medio ambiente que protege el recurso agua, y viceversa. Debemos desarrollar todo nuestro potencial hidroeléctrico lo antes posible, pues económica y ambientalmente son nuestra mejor opción a corto, mediano y largo plazo para generación de electricidad, control de inundaciones y preservación de las cuencas de los ríos; además de irrigación de nuestros campos agrícolas, consumo humano, pesca comercial y deportiva y recreación, entre otros muchos beneficios y pocos perjuicios. Los afectados por su construcción u operación deben ser compensados adecuadamente.

La energía hidroeléctrica puede complementarse con generadores movidos por el viento, paneles solares, geotérmicas y termoeléctricas movidas por combustibles fósiles; aunque creo que estas últimas, por el alto costo del petróleo y del carbón, además de su alta producción de gases contaminantes, sería preferible tenerlas subsidiadas como reserva. ¡El agua bien aprovechada es nuestro petróleo!