Environmental crimes, illegal mining on the rise in Colon

Complaints about environmental crimes in the province of  Colon climbed 14% in 2021-2022  threatening the bio-diversity system.

Among the revelations are wastewater discharges, earth movement, felling, burning, affectations to water sources, contamination, and hunting of wildlife animals.

In addition, in recent months they have been encountering cases of mining, which does not comply with environmental regulations.

Porfirio Justavino, regional director of the Ministry of the Environment in Colón, stressed that the main protected areas affected by these anomalies are the Portobelo National Park, the San Lorenzo Protected Forest and Protected Landscape, and the Gatun Lake Recreation Area.

“For example, in the protected area of ​​Portobelo we have found people who fill the seabed and cut down trees without any type of permit,” he said.

Justavino said:   “In the last 60 days we have encountered 10 cases of illegal mining, and 10 people have been placed under the orders of the authorities.

According to the official, this activity is “serious” because it is contaminating the Gatún River, which is a tributary of the Sabanitas water intake and which provides water to the entire province of Colón.

The discard zone
For Isaías Ramos, a biologist at the Center for Environmental Advocacy, Colón presents the paradox of being treated as a discard zone on environmental issues, being the region where metal mining is located, the thermoelectric plants that nobody wants, uncontrolled agricultural progress together with deforestation and intensive use of pesticides.

“Contrasting all this with the enormous biodiversity and that is the point where the water potential that sustains the economy of the terminal cities originates the Chagres River,” he said.

In the activist’s opinion, the area is full of biodiversity and archaeological heritage: Chagres National Park, Portobelo, Gatún, San Lorenzo, Galeta, Alajuela, and Donoso, which are areas that suffer from urban and peasant pressure, and from the lack of a real environmental ordering

On March 6, three men were apprehended when they were carrying out illegal mining activities in the Chagres National Park and, on February 20, another four people were surprised extracting gold illegally in Quebrada Mula, Sabanitas.

Illegal mining is not always about metals such as gold, but there is also illegal extraction of sand, stones, and gravel from rivers and streams.