environment

Controversy flows around river

A power company and residents face off over the issue of land management in the interior.

The Río Majé, a major tributary of the Río Bayano, which in turn feeds the hydroelectric project Ascanio Villalaz, is in danger due to indiscriminate deforestation in that area.

According to studies of AES Panama, the company that manages the hydroelectric plant, the area around the river was almost completely covered with trees in 1986.

Today, the forest covers only 61.5 percent of the reserve.

Large tracts of mountains, which were once forested, are now covered by the so-called “paja canalera,” or canal straw, which tends to grow in areas where trees have been wiped out.

Abdiel Delgado, head of protected areas for the regional office of the Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente (Anam), said that the agency has opened eight administrative cases against people for illegally clearing trees in the area.

Along the Río Majé, watermarks show that the river used to flow about four feet above its current level. However, sediment from recently deforested areas has disrupted the flow of the river.

“That is a sign of sedimentation, which is what we want to avoid,” Delgado said.

But the issue of who can do what around the river is disputed by the people living there.

Established in 1996, the protected area is home to several indigenous communities who claim that Anam officials are trying to strip residents of their property rights.

Anam officials claim they have been threatened by loggers and poachers when they try to make inspections of the area. Residents, meanwhile, have said they would destroy a an office that Anam wanted to build inside the protected area.

The area is almost impassable during the rainy season, further hampering inspections.

Many farmers in the region need to expand to make ends meet, and that means cutting down trees to use for fields and pastures.

The residents of the region plan to hold a meeting Wednesday to discuss the problems that they have with Anam.