90% of Panamanians want stronger enforcement of environmental standards — poll
Nine out of ten Panamanians want stronger enforcement of environmental laws. ,61.2 % believe that public servants care little or nothing about improving conditions says a survey published April 21.
The report comes from the Barometer of the Americas and Public Opinion in Latin America. For the first time in six years, environmental issues were included in the study performed in 25 countries in the region.
According to 45.1% of respondents, the main problem enforcement to protect the environment is corruption.
The survey work in Panama was done by the consulting firm Borges & Associates.
The document reveals that 9 out of 10 respondents agree to petition the Government for stronger law enforcement to protect the environment.
Panama's government had two bad experiences with environmental laws passed in the years 2010 and 2011 by the National Assembly.
The first was the approval of the controversial Bill 30, which included in one chapter the elimination of environmental impact assessment (EIA), Faced with protests from environmentaliststhe law was repealed rejected.The protests left 2 dead and 600 wounded, according to reports gathered by civil society groups.
This year Executive approved a bill to amend the Code of Mineral Resources, in order to exploit indigenous areas of metal deposits. However, intense protests led by the Indians led the government to repeal the initiative
Data from the National Association for the Conservation of Nature (ANCON) report that between 1992 and 2008 Panama lost about 451 000 hectares of forest, and in the period 2000-2008 were cleared 121 000 279 hectares were cleared .
In total, Panama has lost 838 000 288 hectares between 1970 and 2008, equivalent to 11% of the total land area.
Alida Spadafora, executive director of Ancon, said officials are aware of environmental problems, however, believe the government shows little interest in improving their management to prevent further environmental degradation..
