During her fellowship year, she aims to complement her social and environmental background by increasing her knowledge of public policy issues, inclusive governance strategies, conflict management, and climate change. The construction of the Río Indio Reservoir will require the incorporation of biological corridors. Ms. Lisbeth Karina Vergara, the project’s socio-environmental manager, explained to reporters that monitoring is currently underway in the upper, middle, and lower basins, focusing on water and air quality, as well as the behavior of existing species in the area. As a Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow at UC Davis, Ms. Vergara is interested in water resource management, governance, and public policy related to hydrologic resources. Over the last two years, she has been participating in National Water Council sessions as part of the PCA management team. Before joining the Humphrey program, she was coordinating the environmental and social aspects for the design of a new reservoir to provide water for the population and the Canal's operations. She also has knowledge of international environmental and social standards applied in development and construction projects. Lisbeth Karina Vergara, pictured above, studied forestry engineering at Honduras National University and holds a master's degree in environmental management from Santa Maria La Antigua University in Panama. After earning her diploma, she worked for 22 years in various organizations, including the Panama Canal Authority (PCA), where she has been for the last 15 years implementing projects for the environmental management of the Panama Canal Watershed and the Canal Expansion construction. With the parameters for the resettlement of some 500 families now defined, the Río Indio project moves on to the environmental impact study phase. The land in question for the Río Indio project is pictured below. Ms. Vergara has practical and theoretical knowledge about participation processes with different stakeholders at the local and national levels.
