Management Plan PA WR Panama Bay Wetland

TWO PANAMANIAN CITIZENS IN THEIR CAPACITY AS ATTORNEYS ON BEHALF OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCACY CENTER (CIAM), PRESENTED A SUBMISSION TO THE SECRETARIAT FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ENFORCEMENT MATTERS OF THE UNITED STATES – PANAMA TRADE PROMOTION AGREEMENT (U.S.-Panama TPA), ASSERTING A FAILURE TO EFFECTIVELY ENFORCE ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS IN THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA, REGARDING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR THE PROTECTED AREA KNOWN AS RAMSAR SITE, PANAMA BAY WETLAND WILDLIFE REFUGE.

Panama City, Panama, July 21, 2024. On June 21, 2024, Joana Anabel Abrego García and Mari Helena Castillo Mariscal, in their capacity as attorneys on behalf of the Environmental Advocacy Center (CIAM), filed a submission with the Secretariat for Environmental Enforcement Matters (SEEM) of the U.S.-Panama TPA.

In the submission, identified as No. SALA-CA-PMA/001/2024 and titled "Management Plan, PA WR Panama Bay Wetland”, the submitters assert that the Government of Panama has failed to comply with Law No. 1 of 2015, which declares the Panama Bay Wetland Wildlife Refuge, Ramsar Site, as a protected area. Article 12 of this law establishes that the National Environmental Authority, now the Ministry of Environment, shall develop the Management Plan for this protected area within no more than two years from the entry into force of the law, in coordination with the National Wetlands Committee. The submitters assert that “more than two years have passed without the Ministry of Environment developing and approving the Management Plan”.

The submitters assert that in 2021, through a public act, the Ministry of Health granted a contract to a consulting services firm for the development of the Management Plan, workshops were held, and comments were sent in that process, but that they do not know if these observations were considered in the development of the Management Plan. The submitters additionally assert that in February 2023 CIAM requested a closed meeting with the National Wetlands Committee where the Ministry of Environment stated that it would make publicly available a proposal of the Management Plan and that a public consultation process would be initiated, but as of June 2024, this has not occurred.

The submitters also assert that in May 2019, a submission regarding this issue was presented to the U.S.-Panama TPA SEEM, which determined that the preparation of a factual record was not warranted since the administrative procedure for the preparation of the Management Plan was underway at that time.  However, they claim that five years after that submission was presented, the Panama Bay Wetland Wildlife Refuge still lacks a final Management Plan approved through a Resolution and published in the Official Gazette.

The SEEM is currently analyzing the submission to determine its compliance with the requirements established in Article 17.8.2 of Chapter 17 of the U.S.-Panama TPA. If the submission complies with the admissibility requirements, the SEEM will continue with the corresponding procedure.