The mangroves of

Punta GaletaA snapshot of their diversity…

White mangrove

Red mangrove

Black mangrove

• Extraordinary Extraordinary diversity of lifediversity of life

- within 4 km. of - within 4 km. of the the Bahia las Bahia las

MinasMinas land that land that includes Galeta, includes Galeta,

there are 300 there are 300 species of birdsspecies of birds

- This total - This total number of species number of species

is more species is more species than exist in Spain than exist in Spain

and Portugal and Portugal combinedcombined

are in danger…

The mangroves of

Punta Galetaand the livelihood they support,

Plans that have been made: At present both

Colón Container Terminal

(Evergreen Marine Corporation) and

Manzanillo International

Terminal (Stevedoring Services of

America) plan port expansions that will result in the clearing

of 18.2 ha and 12 ha of virgin mangrove

respectively.

City of City of ColónColón MITMIT

CCTCCT

Randolf RoadRandolf Road

Galeta RoadGaleta Road

MIT SiteMIT Site

CCT SiteCCT Site

La Zona La Zona LibreLibre

Coco Solo Coco Solo NorteNorte

What’s the problem with this:

• Environmental impact assessments filed by Colón Container Terminal and Manzanillo International Terminal were:

- far from comprehensive

- lacked scientific credibility and professionalism - were highly biased

- at times, blatantly dishonest

Some items not noted in the assessment:

- Release of toxic sediments sequestered in the mangroves– Diminishing value for the scientific and

educational activities of Punta Galeta Marine Laboratory

- Numerous species that exist within Galeta were not mentioned – for example, only one species of frog was listed to exist in this area

Reasons Why Mangroves are a Unique and Important

Ecosystem

3. Prevent costal erosion

2. Protection against catastrophic weather

1. Habitat and food for marine and terrestrial organism

4. Spawning grounds

Smithsonian’s Galeta Marine Point Laboratory

• Galeta has been a Smithsonian research lab since the 1960s.

• It hosts national and international scientists studying ecosystems. such as coral reefs and mangroves.

• Galeta is designated with a Category 5 Conservation Status, meaning it cannot be purposefully destroyed by law.

• Although the protected area is not being cleared, it will suffer.

• There are 4 aspects of Galeta that make it particularly important that this area be preserved.

• Study and understand corals, sea grass, mangrove, and its faunal inhabitants

• Galeta is particularly important for the study of Comparative Marine Biology because of its location on the Atlantic Ocean only 80 km. from the Pacific Ocean – Here scientists can

determined how certain species have evolved since the isthmus of Panama rose to divide the oceans thousands of years ago

Reasons why mangroves

surrounding Galeta are particularly

important

Scientific Importance

26 Scientific Instruments, which compose the oldest physical monitoring program in the Caribbean

- Measures rainfall, quantum radiation, sea level of the Caribbean, for instance- Can be viewed world wide at:

http://striweb.si.edu/esp/physical_monitoring/data/mesp/realtime/galeta_24hr_autorefresh.htm

Educational Importance

• The program began in the year- 2000 with 200 children from an orphanage

- 2006 had 8,000 children from all over Panama- 2007 expects 10,000 students

Educational Importance

•Teachers are provided with posters, booklets, pamphlets, etc. to bring back to their classrooms• A underwater camera is being installed this summer to allow children to view marine activity in real time.

Touristic Importance

• The Visitor Program at Galeta has opened their doors to international visitors by training the guides in English

• Galeta hopes to maintain the pristine environment to encourage more traveling to this area

•Following a campaign in Colon to encourage tourism, ecotourism allows citizens of

Colon to benefit economically while

preserving their mangroves•With the unemployment rate of Colon up around

40%, this means of employment should not be

dismissed

Mystical ImportanceThe mangrove ecosystem of Colon

should be considered sacred.

•Galeta provides a spiritual or mystical

retreat in the midst of the

aggressiveness that is seen throughout

Colon due to the destruction

of nature.

•Galeta allows Colon’s residents to have the ability

to listen to and come in intimate

contact with nature.

3 Concerns for Galeta and the surrounding Mangroves

1. Galeta Road is vital- Forests need to be kept on both sides of the road to maintain a panoramic entrance to Galeta- Need a buffer zone to keep the equipment away from the road

2. Freshwater flow- In Margarita Lagoon, the salinity equilibrium is fragile- As landfill is built, there will be freshwater runoff- It should go back to the bay because it would alter the salinity and lead to the rapid destruction of the adjacent mangroves

3 Concerns for Galeta and the surrounding Mangroves

3. Protection of natural creeks- Mangroves are very important in keeping well-functioning estuaries.- At very least, a mangrove belt must be maintained surrounding the water. - The more creeks that are altered, the more flooding there will be.

3 Concerns for Galeta and the surrounding Mangroves

Current situation of the development plan

• Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente (ANAM)

- Approved the Environmental Impact Assessment completed in 2005 for CCT

- Gave permission for the clear-cutting of the desired areas

• Autoridad de Recursos Acuaticos de Panama (ARAP)

- Refused to approve the cutting until an agreement had been reached with Smithsonian

Current situation of the development plan

• On June 1, 2007, Smithsonian and Evergreen began talks to reach an agreement with the intention of minimizing the amount of mangroves affected by the development

• Failing to compromise on a 300 meter buffer zone to the South of Galeta Road, Smithsonian settled on a 125 meter buffer from the road

• The 125 meter buffer fails to protect the river (Rio Coco Solo) that runs through a stretch of the mangroves

• Destroying this river presents various other problems

Problems associated with destruction of Rio Coco Solo

• Strong water flow from all over this mangrove area towards the river- Therefore, if there are sediments from the construction of these new ports they will be drawn into this river- The sediments are potentially very harmful to the remaining mangroves themselves as well as surrounding ecosystems, such as corals

• It is an important drainage system- Without this river, the amount of flooding in Colon will most likely increase- 4 major floods occurred in Colon last year – any more could be potentially disastrous

Preferred plan for development

• As the local government is pressed to provide more jobs for the citizens of Colon, it is unlikely that these development projects can be completely avoided

• Instead of the plan to maintain a 125 meter buffer from Galeta Road, it would be more ecologically beneficial for the buffer to be surrounding the river.

What you can do • Learn more• The Environmental Impact Assessments are filed in

the Colon ANAM office under: CCT- L.L and O. Company (December 2005) Estudio de impacto ambiental –

Categoria II – Ampliación del patio de contenedores en Coco Solo Norte – polígono no.2, area no.2, y area no.3. Colón Container

Terminal, Resolución IAR 026-99.- L.L and O. Company (March 2006) Estudio de impacto ambiental – Categoria II – Ampliación del patio de contenedores en Coco Solo Norte – polígono no.2, area no.2, y area no.3. Colón Container Terminal, Resolución IAR 026-99.

MIT- Vargas, J.J. (July 2005) Estudio Categoria II Proyecto de Ampliación del

Puerto de Manzanillo. Manzanillo International Terminal, RUC 8-194-829-D.V.08.

What you can do • Unite to change Law 21

- In 1997, the Panamanian planned what land would be used for in the coming years.

- Aside from the protected area of Galeta, the directly neighboring mangroves have been delegated to port and housing developments

• Attend protests or organize your own• Write letters to local newspapers and radio stations

Will this be Punta Galeta in ten years?

We must choose.Or this?