More than 60 scientific, social, and environmental organizations publicly denounced the advance of a legal and media intimidation strategy aimed at hindering and punishing environmental defenders in the country.
The signatory organizations demanded that the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Judiciary dismiss the lawsuits filed by Ocean Pacific Financial, the company promoting the Puerto Barú port project in David, against the organizations Adopta Bosque Panamá and the Center for Environmental Advocacy (CIAM). Both lawsuits have already been accepted by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, raising alarms within civil society.
In their joint statement, the organizations recalled that Panama is a signatory to the Escazú Agreement, which obligates states to guarantee a safe environment for those who defend human and environmental rights.
However, they pointed out that actions like these, which seek to punish public opinion, discredit environmental organizations and wear down their ability to influence, constitute abusive SLAPPs: strategic lawsuits against public participation, widely recognized internationally for their use as tools of censorship, intimidation and emotional, legal and economic exhaustion.
«In Panama, Environmental Impact Assessments have become a repetitive ceremony, an administrative requirement that ostensibly protects nature, but in practice ends up endorsing the degradation of ecosystems. The country has been applying the General Environmental Law for over two decades, but its results are far from ideal. Its spirit has been diluted by political and economic interests, consulting firms, and complacent authorities. EIAs were created to ensure that development did not destroy natural resources and people’s quality of life, but today they barely serve to justify decisions already made.»
«The statements come after two lawsuits were filed against the Center for Environmental Advocacy (CIAM) and entities that have promoted the protection of natural areas in the province of Chiriquí, especially given the potential impact of the Puerto Barú project. Both organizations maintain that their work seeks to raise awareness and propose sustainable alternatives, not to impede development.»
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