We are living through a historical irony where megaprojects promise “progress” wrapped in polished images and seductive rhetoric. In this context, the task of telling the truth, with evidence, experience, and local knowledge, becomes urgent.
On this occasion, four voices who know the Gulf of Chiriquí, its mangroves and biodiversity react to the promotional video of Puerto Barú Project, an advertisement that attempts to portray the port as an opportunity for the region.
But as they warn, what the video doesn’t show is precisely what matters most..
See the reactions here
Advertising can soften the edges, but it cannot hide the essential: Mangroves are natural infrastructure. They are living walls against storms, oxygen factories, nurseries for marine life, and silent climate regulators. Their value is not measured in square meters, but in protection, food, and stability for thousands of people. When a mangrove is destroyed, it is not “vegetation” that is lost: a natural defense that money cannot replace is lost. That is why, Development cannot be built on the foundation of destroying what protects us.
Today, defending the rights of nature is also defending Panama.
ES