1

Kyle Keith
Frinq Sustainability 125A
2/26/14

Barro Blanco Hydroelectric Project

Panama, a relatively small country, is one of the most biologically diverse places on
earth. Located between Columbia and Costa Rica, Panama contains virgin rainforests, tropical
forests, mangroves, and nearly 500 rivers. According to Wikipedia, the wildlife there holds the
most diversity in all of Central America, and it is even home to some South American species
and North American wildlife (n.d.). The Barro Blanco hydroelectric project is just one of many
new dams slated for completion in the coming years. Large dams, defined as being over
approximately 50 feet in height (15 meters), are often publicized as clean energy and have
become a profitable business in Panama. However, the indigenous Ngabe people living along the
banks of the Tabasara River have been fighting relentlessly against construction of the Barro
Blanco dam. They argue that dam development is destroying the rivers and the indigenous
communities that have lived there for centuries. The Ngabe people now face forced eviction
from the land and will be forced to surrender their homes, farms, and cultural legacy. Despite
being advertised as clean energy by the project developer (GENISA), the Barro Blanco dam
will have long-term disastrous effects on the indigenous people and diverse ecosystem.

2


Figure 1. Location of Barro Blanco Dam in Panama

There is a long-standing difference of opinion between the Panamanian government and
the indigenous communities over the practice of both mining and hydropower dams in their
territories. Although the Ngabe people of the Chiriqui province have been struggling to stop
construction of the Barro Blanco dam since it first began, they now face imminent eviction at the
hands of government security forces. According to research by Finley-Brook and Thomas
(2010), since the inception of the World Commission on Dams (WCD) consultation practices
with affected populations prior to hydro concessions often remained poor. The authors reviewed
two other recent large-scale dams in Panama which resulted in disrespect for the land, lack of
informed consent from the indigenous people, relocation of villages, and when faced with
protests by the local population, human rights violations, including state-sponsored violence.
Despite the Ngabe people standing firm right to the bitter end, and much international support, a
formal government warning has been issued demanding that they vacate their lands in the name
of clean energy.
The clean development mechanism (CDM) was created to help developing countries
achieve a long term sustainable growth plan, while simultaneously assisting industrialized
countries in achieving their Kyoto Protocol commitments. (Gaast, Begg, & Flamos, 2009).
3

When researching how effectively sustainable energy technology is transferred to developing
countries through the CDM, the authors found that in actual practice, when new technology is
introduced, the focus tends to be on reducing greenhouse gas emissions at the lowest cost
possible and less on the energy needs and priorities of the host countries. Look no further than
India and China, where the majority of the CDM are currently hosted. A recent article titled
Hydropower in the CDM: Examining Additionality and Criteria for Sustainability (2011),
examined the effectiveness of hydroelectric projects applying for carbon crediting under the
clean development mechanism. They found that the CDM is having little effect on large
hydropower development, and non-financial factors such as energy security heavily influence
decisions to build new hydroelectric projects. The authors also identify several shortcomings
compliance with the World Commission on Dams (WCD) guidelines, including auditor conflicts
of interest, lack of guidance with public consultations, consistent lack of documented acceptance
from the affected indigenous people, and insufficient access to information by the general public
(Haya & Parekh, 2011). This seems to spotlight the fact the Ngabe people are simply the latest
group of people who not adequately consulted, and never gave consent to relinquish their lands.
The forced relocation of the indigenous Ngabe communities along the Tabasara River
would not only result in the loss of their land, source of food and water, and means of survival
they have always known for generations, but perhaps most importantly, their cultural history.
According to research by Bellier and Preaud (2012) on the emergence of the recognition of
indigenous peoples rights, the recognition of indigenous peoples as subjects of international
law has far-ranging implications for the global system as a whole, and that it could potentially
be a factor in affecting the balance between economic and political powers. This phenomenon
is becoming more apparent around the globe, where new hydropower dam development is often
4

met with resistance and opposition from the local communities, along with activist groups and
nongovernmental organizations.
For the Ngabe people, time to resist has effectively run out and the process of forced
eviction has begun. On February 18 of this year, human rights groups collectively submitted an
urgent appeal to the United Nations on behalf of the Ngabe community. A portion of the appeal
letter regarding the Imminent Forced Evictions of Indigenous Ngobe Families due to Barro
Blanco Dam in Panama contends the following:
A project registered under the Kyoto Protocols Clean Development Mechanism (CDM),
the dam is projected to displace approximately 270 indigenous people who neither were
consulted nor gave their consent to leave their land, and who depend on their land for
physical, socio-economic, and cultural survival. We ask that you call upon 1) the State of
Panama to suspend the eviction processes and dam construction until it has complied
with its obligations under international law; 2) the States of Germany and the
Netherlands, as well as the member States of the Central American Bank for Economic
Integration, to suspend the financing of the project until each country has taken
appropriate measures to prevent their respective development banks from violating the
Ngobes human rights.
Clearly, the Ngabe people of western Panama do not appear to be the recipients of much
prosperity as a result of the Barro Blanco dam, and their voice as a community seems to fall on
deaf ears at the highest levels of industry, and even government.
Compared to other hydroelectric facilities in Panama, Barro Blanco is relatively small in
scale, but the negative impacts on the indigenous communities and diverse ecosystem will be
5

exorbitant, despite the public image of sustainable development. The Ngabe communities who
have lost their land are forced to relocate to continue farming, putting added strain on the natural
resources. In some cases, virgin forest has been destroyed and lost due to dam construction. The
ecology of the rivers are also affected, as many fish species are migratory and require the ability
to travel back and forth to the ocean at various times of year. Disruption of the breeding process
can result in the loss of important fish and other aquatic species. The human and environmental
damage from large-scale hydroelectric dam development is evident. Although the entities that
continue to profit from new construction insist that local communities have a lot to gain from the
hydropower projects, the reality to the Ngabe people is hardship, destruction of their beloved
lands, and an irreversible deterioration of their culture.










6

References
Finley-Brook, M., & Thomas, C. (2010). Treatment of Displaced Indigenous Populations in Two
Large Hydro Projects in Panama. Water Alternatives, 3(2), 269290. Retrieved from:
http://stats.lib.pdx.edu.proxy.lib.pdx.edu/proxy.php?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.lib.pd
x.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eih&AN=52960694&site=ehost-live
Van der Gaast, W., Begg, K. & Flamos, A. (2009). Promoting Sustainable Energy Technology
Transfers to Developing Countries through the CDM. Applied Energy, 86(2), 230236.
http://dx.doi.org.proxy.lib.pdx.edu/10.1016/j.apenergy.2008.03.009
Haya, B., & Parekh, P. (2011). Hydropower in the CDM: Examining Additionality and Criteria for
Sustainability. University of California, Berkeley Energy and Resources Group Working Paper
No. ERG-11-001. http://dx.doi.org.proxy.lib.pdx.edu/10.2139/ssrn.2120862
Bellier, I., & Praud, M. (2012). Emerging Issues in Indigenous Rights: Transformative Effects of the
Recognition of Indigenous Peoples. The International Journal of Human Rights, 16(3), 474488.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13642987.2011.574616
Panama. (n.d.). From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama
Barro Blanco Dam. (n.d.). From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barro_Blanco_Dam
M-10, Earthjustice, AIDA, & COIEL (2014). Imminent Forced Evictions of Indigenous Ngobe
Families due to Barro Blanco Dam in Panama. An appeal to UN Special Rapporteurs. Retrieved
from: http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/files/AppealForcedEvictionBarroBlancoDam14-
02-18.pdf

7