The Power of the Ocean
For the Panama Audubon Society, the cutting of mangroves in the village of Juan Diaz, if continued, will be a "time bomb" for the town. Mangroves serve as a protective barrier for storms and rising waters for the village, but without this protection the town will become vulnerable and ultimately doomed. A. Rosabel Miró, director of the Audubon Society, is concerned that there are over 600 acres in the possible flood area that are currently urbanizing. "If this continues, those millionaire's projects being developed near the South Corridor will suffer huge losses," he added. The Audubon Society, along with other civil society organizations, has launched a campaign in order to propel the National Environmental Authority and the Ministry of Housing and Land Management to fulfill its function in preventing the cutting of mangroves for the . The only action the authorities have taken is channeling rivers and streams, and for evironmentalists this is not enough for the area to be saved.
JUAN DIAZ, A 'TIME BOMB'
Sea Level Rise in Panama
Marine ecosystems on the Panamanian coasts are threatened not only by pollution and over-predation, but also global phenomena, such as global warming. Global warming increases the temperature of the water, this can then cause the depletion of phytoplankton, a key species that supports the entire marine food web. The marine ecosystem of the Gulf of Chiriquà be one of the most affected by rising sea levels as a result of climate change. A study by the Mar Viva Foundation determined that the ecosystem of the Gulf of Chiriqui is very vulnerable to ecological permutations in the sea.
The maps below show the effect of sea level rise on Azuero, Panama. Even after a few meters of sea level rise, large amounts of flooding would occur at the Gulf of Parita and the Gulf of Montijo.
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