Panama Groups are Calling for the Indio River Dam Project to be Suspended
Pictured is the Boca de Uracillo community, Coclé province, part of the area where the Río Indio reservoir will be built.
The Indio River reservoir project is once again causing tension: while peasant organizations are demanding its suspension due to alleged flaws in the process and warning of greater impacts than those acknowledged, the Panama Canal maintains that it has complied with the consultations and defends the initiative as key to the country’s water security. The group argues that the project’s impact would be greater than officially stated, as it would not only affect some 500 families, but more than 13,600 people living in the basin, in addition to compromising the flora, fauna, and natural resources of the area. The Peasant Coordinator for Life Against the Dams denounces the lack of public consultation, while the Panama Canal Authority maintains that the project is key to water security. The Canal Authority considers it vital for the country’s water supply.
