More than 200 young Panamanians applied to Leaders for Nature, The Oxygen Project’s program that seeks to train a new generation of environmental advocates. Of these, 50 were selected to learn about the Rights of Nature, advocacy, and ecosystem protection. And this time, the classroom was the David Mangroves in Chiriquí.

Leaders for Nature combines virtual training with face-to-face experiences in the field, connecting scientific knowledge, advocacy tools, and direct contact with the ecosystems we seek to protect.The program is part of TOP Coop The Oxygen Project’s global community educates, supports, and connects environmental leaders to transform inspiration into action.

The training began with international and Panamanian leaders who have promoted the Rights of Nature from different fields.

Natalia Greene, global director of the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature (GARN), shared her experience in the movement that led Ecuador to become the first country in the world to constitutionally recognize these rights.

Callie Veelenturf, marine biologist and founder of The Leatherback Project, discussed her involvement in promoting the Law 287, which since 2022 has recognized the Rights of Nature in Panama.

From Sustainable Ocean Alliance PanamaNatalia Navarro and Sergio Othon contributed their knowledge of marine ecosystems, biodiversity and environmental impact.

An opportunity to understand that defending nature requires knowledge, collaboration, and participation.

David’s Mangroves: Learning in a territory that needs protection

The in-person experience led the young people to the David’s Mangroves, in the Gulf of Chiriquí, an ecosystem that protects the coasts, captures carbon and is home to extraordinary biodiversity.

But it is also a territory where a significant environmental controversy is unfolding. The project Puerto Barú includes port infrastructure and dredging works that could affect mangroves and associated marine ecosystems.

This situation presents a contradiction that runs through the Panamanian environmental debate: while Panama is promoting a Universal Declaration of the Rights of Nature before the United Nations, within its own territory the dispute continues over a project whose potential impacts on the David Mangroves have been questioned.

From Panama to the world: think globally, act locally

The training continues with two international online sessions, open to young people from all over the world:

• October 24 | 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., Panama time:The global movement for the Rights of Nature.
• October 29 | 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., Panama time: Digital advocacy toolbox.
  
  APPLY HERE FOR THE GLOBAL SESSIONS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Because environmental challenges are global, but transformations begin in local areas.Leaders for Nature is a commitment by The Oxygen Project to a generation that not only knows the Rights of Nature, but also has the tools to defend them.And in Panama, that defense has a specific place to begin:David’s Mangroves.

Nature is our best classroom! Learning to defend it is the next step.

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