Country Comments

With its tropical location linking Central and South America, Panama is rich in biodiversity and acts as an important corridor for species migration. Its current population and economic activity is sustainable, however with fertility rates averaging 2.5 children per woman, the population growth rate may within the decade begin to exceed the country’s ability to live within its renewable resource base.

The Convention on Biological Diversity stated that this continued growth has posed significant land use changes in the country of greater agricultural expansion, urban sprawl and tourism. The development of roads, power lines, hydroelectric plants, among other infrastructure, triggered by urban sprawl into buffer zones around protected areas, such as Chagres National Park and other protected areas in the Panama Canal watershed, is transforming natural conditions with effects on biodiversity. In addition, the buffer zones around the Volcan Baru National Park and La Amistad International Park (a transboundary protected area with Costa Rica) are particularly affected by land and water pollution resulting from the use of agrochemicals, sewage dumping, among other factors. (1)

In the past few years the government has reacted to the increasing clamor for better human health, social justice and environmental well being by launching the Gender Parity Initiative to increase the number of women in leadership positions, increase women’s participation in the labor workforce and close gender wage gaps. (2)

(1) https://www.cbd.int/countries/profile/?country=pa

(2) https://borgenproject.org/womens-rights-in-panama/