Although Magdalena Martinez has lived her entire life along the Indio River, a proposed dam to protect the Panama Canal from drought is now threatening to engulf her home.
The 49-year-old is one of many residents who oppose artificial lakes that would feed the crucial interoceanic waterway.
With her husband and five of her 13 children, Martinez describes the threat she and her husband are facing.
“We are unsure of our destination.”
The small village of Martinez’s family has always been a lush mountain village where the locals depend on raising livestock and growing crops like cassava and maize for their income.
The neighborhood vows to stand up for the multibillion dollar global shipping industry’s benefits and refuse to allow the destruction of its homes.
In a canoe-mounted protest last week against the planned dam, which would force thousands of families to relocate, hundreds of villagers took to the Indio River last week.
The Panama Canal Authority (APC), the autonomous public authority overseeing the waterway, made the decision to build the reservoir to combat severe droughts like the one that caused severe ship traffic cuts in 2023.
The canal, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, is a century-old project that relies on two artificial lakes for drinking water and previous abundant rainfall.
The canal uses a lock system to lift and lower vessels, releasing millions of litres of fresh water each time it transits, primarily for shipping clients from the US, China, and Japan.
The proposed reservoir, which extends over 4,600 hectares (11, 400 acres) to one of the existing lakes, would pass through a tunnel that would span nine kilometers (5, 6 miles).
The ACP’s environmental and social manager, Karina Vergara, said the project “meets a need that was identified a long time ago: it’s the water of the future.”
With an estimated $1.6 billion investment, work on the reservoir is scheduled to start in 2027 and finish in 2032.
About 2,500 people from various villages receive $400 million in compensation and relocation expenses.
Vergara stated that “we have a strong commitment to dialogue and coming to agreements” with the victims.
We’ll regret not building the reservoir, she said, in 15 years.
The project, which has the support of President Jose Raul Mulino, could ultimately affect as many as 12, 000 people, according to civil society organizations. This includes the entire Indio River basin.
The Panama Canal, which spans 80% of the world’s maritime trade, is still vital to Panama’s economy and accounts for 6% of it.
Source: Aljazeera
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