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Panama Bay Wildlife Refuge Wetland

TROUBLING NEWS FROM PANAMA

The Panamanian Supreme Court eliminated the classification for the Panama Bay Wildlife Refuge Site and Ramsar Site in May 2012. The area entered the List of Wetlands of International Importance in 2003. The court´s "logic" was that there had been lack of consultation in the designation. However, this is totally false, and landowners and developers have had their eyes on these coastal areas for urban expansion and tourist development for several years. The vast majority of the site is composed of 85,000 ha of mangrove forest and other wetland areas that stretch about 100 km from Panama City east to the border of Darién Province on Panama´s Pacific coast.

Simultaneously, President Ricardo Martinelli announced that he hopes that within a year the area will be a new Cancun. Where extensive mudflats with 5 meters tidal range occur today, he plans to fill with sand to promote tourism!

A coalition of Panamanian environmental groups and fishers is organizing against the government action. The environmental groups are also joined by groups opposing Martinelli´s plans to build an ocean-fill expressway around the San Felipe neighborhood in Panama City, designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997. Last week the Technical Secretary of the World Heritage Committee stated that if this road continues in Panama Bay around San Felipe, The Committee will likely remove the site from the World Heritage List.

Please Sign the Petition Letter to Panamanian Authorities and Send to the Addresses Provided Below or Sign the Petition at CARE2.com

6/21/2012

Attn. Ricardo Martinelli, Presidente de la República de Panamá.

We the undersigned persons are aware that the Panamanian Supreme Court eliminated the classification for the Panama Bay Wildlife Refuge Wetland Site in May 2012. The majority of this protected area entered the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance in 2003. Most of the site is composed of 85,000 ha of mangrove forest and other wetland areas that stretch more than 100 km from Panama City east to the border of Darién Province on Panama´s Pacific coast. This protected area contains one of Panama´s largest contiguous mangrove forests. The wetlands of Panama Bay are one of the most important shorebird migration stopover sites in the Western Hemisphere. Between 1 and 2 million shorebirds, comprising more than 30 species converge there each fall during their annual migration. We consider that this action regarding the Panama Bay Wildlife Refuge Wetland Site is an unprecedented attack on Panama´s National System of Protected Areas and Western Hemisphere mangroves.

We are also aware the Panamanian officials have stated their intentions to promote parts of the area for coastal tourism and real estate development. These land uses are inappropriate for a coastal mangrove ecosystem.

The coastal wetlands of Panama Bay provide numerous ecosystem services to Panama and its peoples that need to be protected and maintained. They protect the shoreline against coastal erosion and storm events and are also important in mitigating coastal flooding. Mangrove forests also are sinks for carbon and help slow increasing levels of atmospheric greenhouse gases. With global climate change and sea level rise, the importance of these mangroves will only increase for Panama in the coming years.

Panama Bay mangroves are nursery areas for various species of shrimp that constitute an important economic resource in the Gulf of Panama and generate significant export earnings for Panama. Mangroves are important centers for biological diversity, and Panama Bay is recognized as a particularly important site for migratory shorebirds. Additionally, Panama Bay mangroves provide livelihoods for thousands of coastal persons in small coastal communities from Juan Díaz to Chimán.

Given the actions of your government and the importance of Panama Bay mangroves, we request that Panamanian authorities:

1. Act to protect their country´s natural resources and fulfill their responsibilities as the stewards of Panama´s National System of Protected Areas,

2. Respect their Nation´s obligations under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, and

3. Reinstitute the Panama Bay Wildlife Refuge Wetland Site.

For the Mangroves And the Mangrove Communities!

The signed petition should be sent to the following Panamanian officials:

1) Ricardo Martinelli, Presidente de la República de Panamá. rmartinelli@super99.com and agenda@presidencia.gob.pa

2) Demetrio Papadimitriu, Ministro de la Presidencia
jpapadimitriu@yahoo.com and jp@presidencia.gob.pa

3) María Fábrega, Vice Ministra de la Presidencia
mf@presidencia.gob.pa

4) Salo Shamah, Ministro de Turismo
salosha@atp.gob.pa

5) Giovanni Lauri Carretti, Administrador General de la Autoridad de los Recursos Acuáticos de Panamá (ARAP)
giovanni.lauri@arap.gob.pa and giovanni.lauri@gmail.com

6) Oscar Osorio, Ministro del Ministerio de Desarrollo Agropecuario (MIDA) y Presidente de la Junta Directiva de la ARAP
oosorio@mida.gob.pa

Mangrove Action Project

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Panama Bay Wildlife Refuge Wetland