25 arrested for  environmental degradation

Last week The National Police arrested 25 men extracting sand from a beach in Pacora part of the Panama Bay wetland, which was declared a protected area in February 2015, due to its importance for migratory birds.

It is the latest example of environmental degradation which has become a multi-billion dollar business in Panama.

Four months after the wetland was declared an ecological reserve, La Prensa reported that sand and stone traffickers had taken over valuable beaches in Pacora.

Law 1 of 2015, by which the Panama Bay wetland is declared a protected area, prohibits “removal, felling, clearing, filling, extraction and any other activity that affects the hydrological flow of mangroves.”

Now, eight years later, everything indicates that the illegal activity continued all this time in the Pacora region.

Elmer Caballero, head of the National Directorate of the Environmental, Rural, and Tourist Police (Dinapart) of the National Police,  told La Prensa, that there were about eight months of work, between intelligence work and the judicial part.

“The Public Ministry was informed five months ago and the investigation began. 25 people were apprehended and six trucks were detained, ”he said.

Eight years ago, La Prensa was able to verify that the business with the sand in the natural reserve was generating thousands of dollars for the owners of sand, concrete, and truck quarries, as well as for the residents of the eastern area of ​​the capital, which includes the corregimientos of Pacora, December 24, Tocumen, Las Mañanitas and Pedregal. During a day of touring the area, some 30 trucks were observed entering and leaving the beach. Then the vehicles were followed up, which accessed concrete factories, hardware stores, and private homes, where they delivered the material.

The price of each cubic yard of sand ranges between 43 and 48 dollars, depending on the trade, and each truck can transport between 14 and 16 cubic yards per trip, which at the end of the day can translate into thousands of dollars.

Other crimes
Caballero said that currently, the eastern area of ​​the province of Panama is one of the points where more environmental crimes are reported, which range from sand and stone extraction to illegal logging and wildlife trafficking.

Wildlife trafficking is the fourth most profitable illicit business in the world, after drug, arms, and human trafficking, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

“We carried out an operation in Chimán where 15 hectares were deforested to extract cocobolo wood and other valuable species,”

He said that currently, the cases that Dinapart deals with the most are illegal logging, wildlife trafficking, and illegal mining, which, in addition to destroying the riverbeds, contaminates them with the use of chemicals. There is also illegal fishing and forest fires.