{"id":1312,"date":"2026-01-30T12:28:34","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T12:28:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/noapuertobaru.com\/?p=1312"},"modified":"2026-01-30T12:37:04","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T12:37:04","slug":"guardians-of-the-mangroves-panama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/noapuertobaru.com\/en\/articles-2\/guardians-of-the-mangroves-panama\/","title":{"rendered":"I am a caretaker of the mangrove, Professor Olga de Samaniego"},"content":{"rendered":"

On the coasts of Chiriqu\u00ed, the mangrove is not just an ecosystem: it is a way of life. Craft and subsistence activities that have supported entire coastal communities for generations depend upon it. Looking after it is not an environmental slogan, it is a daily necessity and, in that care, the work of Professor Olga de Samaniego has been key.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of Professor Olga's most profound contributions has been uniting education and conservation.<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u201cSince 2007, we have been integrating all our students at the Pedregal school to look after our mangroves. Involving students in caring for the mangrove is about shaping a citizenry that understands nature is not a disposable resource, but a system upon which we depend. That early education builds connections, responsibility and collective memory.<\/span><\/p>\n

The mangrove as a life system<\/b><\/h2>\n

Mangroves are much more than just a landscape, the mangroves of the Gulf of Chiriqu\u00ed and around the world sustain local food security and the daily income of many families. The <\/span>manual collection<\/b> of species such as conch, crabs and other molluscs, is a low-impact practice that generates direct livelihoods and community employment. The <\/span>ecotourism<\/b>, which diversifies the local economy based on healthy mangroves and intact landscapes; and the <\/span>traditional knowledge<\/b>, passed down from generation to generation that allow the use of the mangrove without degrading it, regulating times, areas and extraction practices, thus ensuring its continuity over time.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cOur mangroves form part of our living systems: they provide us with fishing yields, right through to ecotourism. In this way, many people make a living.\u201d In short, with her years of experience as an educator, Olga has a progressive view of mangroves, where a vibrant economy depends on a vibrant mangrove.<\/span><\/p>\n

Artisanal and subsistence: invisibilised economies<\/b><\/h2>\n

There are economies that tend to be left out of the grand narratives of investment and progress. However, they are real economies, sustained by physical labour, knowledge of the land and a delicate balance with nature. They do not require major infrastructure, but they do need healthy ecosystems.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cArtisanal fishing, shell fishing, all these economic activities could be affected,\u201d points out Samaniego, underlining that the impact is not abstract: it has a human face. Her voice does not speak from theory, but from direct experience with the territory, with the people who make a living from the mangrove swamp and with the students who are learning to protect it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mangroves are work, food, culture and the future. The artisanal and subsistence activities carried out there are not a vestige of the past: they are an alternative that today confront development models that put ecosystems at risk.<\/span><\/p>\n

Listening to those who care for the mangrove, and those who have defended it through education for decades, is essential for making responsible decisions. Because defending the mangrove is defending life<\/span><\/p>\n