OPINION: A path to permanent drought

 The Panama Canal Authority has announced that it will decrease the draft of the ships that transit through the new locks. This is, in part, the effect produced by the flow of winds and the increase in solar radiation, which has increased the evaporation of water from the Canal reservoirs. Every centimeter that is subtracted from the depth of Canal customers represents less money, jobs, and benefits for our country. This is the fourth occasion in two months when the draft has been reduced, which may worsen as long as the El Niño effect currently in progress is not over. In addition to this cyclical phenomenon, climate change and the overuse of water use present enormous challenges to the Panama Canal. Without water, there is no Canal, agriculture, hydroelectric, tourism or quality of life. The watershed of the Panama Canal requires more protection, and water management must be considered one of the great strategic problems of Panama. We cannot live with our backs to the environmental crisis, nor can we let irresponsibility with water devour us all, leaving us in a permanent drought- LA PRENSA, Mar. 1