Protest to save the Tabasará RiverASAMCHI
The 28.84 MW Barro Blanco Hydroelectric Project in western Panama has spurred a number of protests by the Ngäbe-Bugle indigenous communities and their allies as a result of a lack of consultation and a failure of its proponents to recognize the impact the dam’s reservoir would have on indigenous lands and livelihoods. The most recent rally in March ended in a violent confrontation with alleged masked police agents. A Ngäbe indigenous man named Onesimo Rodriguez, who opposed the Barro Blanco Dam, was found murdered, his body left in a nearby stream.
As the project nears completion, tensions on the ground are rising, and the local communities need the attention and support of the international community more than ever. We urge you to stand with the Ngäbe-Bugle people of Panama and their allies from around the world by signing this community petition to those involved in financing and building the Barro Blanco Dam. The petition:
- Calls on the funders to immediately withdraw their support from the project;
- Urges the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the UN Human Rights Council’s Independent Expert on Human Rights and the Environment to visit the site and investigate the allegations of abuse; and
- Demands that the project be removed from the Kyoto Protocol’s carbon offseting scheme.
More information
- Learn more about the Barro Blanco project on our blog.
- The Barro Blanco is a CDM-registered project, which means it is allowed to recieve carbon credits under the UNFCCC’s Kyoto Protocol. However, it has also been condemned by a recent UN report which confirmed that Ngäbe-Buglé lands would be affected. Read our letter to the CDM Executive Board highlighting the lack of participation, human rights abuses, and weak additionality arguments for the Barro Blanco.
- Visit Asociacion Ambientalista de Chiriqui (ASAMCHI) to learn more about the campaign against the Barro Blanco Dam (in English and Spanish)
- “Indigenous protester killed by masked assailants in Panama over UN-condemned dam,” Mongabay, 25 March 2013.
- “In Defence of the Rio Tabasara,” Intercontinental Cry, 11 June 2011.
