Panama lawmakers examine proposal to protect the Cricamola River basin

A proposal to protect the entire Cricamola River basin has moved forward in Panama’s National Assembly, where lawmakers are examining whether its upper, middle and lower sections should become a hydrological reserve.

The bill, known as proposal 483, also contains other measures aimed at conserving and protecting the water resource in the Ngäbe-Buglé comarca. The discussion began in the Assembly’s Population, Environment and Development Subcommittee under the chairmanship of alternate lawmaker Rosalía Ellis Santos.

Santos said the committee wants to strengthen the proposal and reach agreement among the institutions responsible for environmental protection and natural-resource management. Representatives of Panama’s Environment Ministry, MiAmbiente, said the process needs scientific information on the basin’s characteristics and potential.

MiAmbiente representative Diego Castillo also said officials must determine whether communities hold possessory rights or titled land within the proposed area. They must also define precisely how protection would apply to the water source. The ministry presented an assessment of biophysical criteria for conserving the basin, which will serve as a technical reference during the legislative review.

Representatives from environmental agencies, the Ombudsman’s Office, the University of Panama and the Gorgas Memorial Institute for Health Studies took part. The subcommittee will continue reviewing the proposal before adopting a common position on designating the Cricamola basin as a hydrological reserve.