Environmental group leaders have denounced today the judicial harassment by the U.S. investment company Ocean Pacific Financial Services, which is promoting the Barú port project in the western province of Chiriquí. The executive director of the Environmental Impact Center (CIAM), Lilian Guevara, stated that the foreign company has launched a "preemptive seizure of bank accounts and assets" against environmental organizations opposing the destruction of the largest concentration of mangroves in protected areas of Panama. The Barú Port project, located in David, Chiriquí, is a private initiative of $250 million to build a multipurpose, presumably "green" port. The wetland is composed of mangrove forests and swamps and includes several islands. The sued group receives firm solidarity support. Guevara refuted the business sector's arguments, whose legal actions affect the programs of CIAM and the Adopt a Forest Panama Association, which provide free legal assistance and defense to vulnerable communities, as well as manage farms with high ecological value. She emphasized that the hostile actions of the U.S. business group represent a "new unprecedented attack on two Panamanian civil society organizations," causing serious concern due to the violation of democratic and national values. In this regard, the director of Basins of Adopt a Forest Panama, Chelina Batista, stated that the company's legal maneuver "puts at risk the management of four farms in the provinces of Chiriquí and Darién, destined for conservation and environmental education." CIAM and Adopt a Forest Panama oppose the development of the Barú port project due to potential damage to wetlands, which are a fragile natural infrastructure and key to protecting biodiversity and the future of cities in this country. In September 2024, a group of organizations (CIAM, Adopt a Forest, among other associations) demanded the annulment of the Environmental Impact Study (EIS) of the port promoter. The Legal Assistance Manager of CIAM, Joana Ábrego, has maintained that the controversial port project will negatively affect species such as whales and dolphins, as well as fishing resources on which several communities depend. She specified that this mangrove ecosystem covers approximately 76,000 hectares within the Gulf of Chiriquí. Environmentalists denounce judicial harassment in Panama. By David Carrasco, Director of Bayano digital. Leaders of environmental organizations denounced today the judicial harassment by the U.S. investment company Ocean Pacific Financial Services, which is promoting the Barú port project in the western province of Chiriquí.
Environmentalists Denounce Judicial Harassment Over Panama Port Project
American company Ocean Pacific Financial Services, promoting the Barú port project, is accused of judicially harassing Panamanian environmental organizations. Leaders of CIAM and 'Adopt a Forest Panama' stated that the company has initiated a 'preemptive seizure of accounts and assets,' putting at risk the management of protected areas and the protection of mangroves, critically important for the country's biodiversity.
