The establishment of the Isla del Rey hydrological reserve is a model for sustainable development in a time of crisis for the world’s water resources.
It is hard to think of a world without water, especially in Panama where the uncontrollable rains produce floods of almost biblical proportions, where the streets turn into rivers and water finds its way almost everywhere, like few other places on earth. Even though we are aware of the ravages of global warming, we have to work very hard to imagine a Panama without water. However, mother nature has only bestowed this bounty on a very few countries, while the rest face drought, shrinking of the polar icecaps, deforestation and melting glaciers, which have brought mankind to the brink of disaster.
Global drought is not science fiction, and will be the cause of future wars, famine and thirst. Neither is the disappearance of all the ice covered mountain peaks and glaciers - such as the Andes or the Himalayas - which supply us with the liquid that is so vital to thousands of millions of human beings.
The reality is that recently water has become much more valuable. Panama has a watery environment, but this will only continue if the various sources of fresh water are properly preserved, in turn sustaining the tropical ecosystems, protecting forests and catchment areas from the erosion and sedimentation, which are synonymous with drought and death. Considering this Panamanian resource in the face of what could be a global disaster, the recent establishment of the Isla del Rey Hydrological Reserve on the largest island in the Las Perlas archipelago (also the second largest in the country), which will protect eleven watersheds with their main rivers and tributaries, is a model of administration at a municipal level that should encourage the creation of other hydrological reserves throughout the length and breadth of the country.
The new Isla del Rey Hydrological Reserve, established by the Balboa District Municipal Council is located in the corregimientos of San Miguel, La Ensenada, La Guinea and La Esmeralda, covering an area of 9,822 hectares of both Government owned and private land. It is a forested area and is fundamentally important to the protection of the natural resources, required for the production of sufficient water of high enough quality to sustain life and productivity in the region.
Above all it is a treasure without price that will soon increase in value as the crisis facing the world’s water resources deepens.
It is hard to think of a world without water, especially in Panama where the uncontrollable rains produce floods of almost biblical proportions, where the streets turn into rivers and water finds its way almost everywhere like few other places on earth. Even though we are aware of the ravages of global warming, we have to work very hard to imagine a Panama without water. However, mother nature has only bestowed this bounty on a very few countries, while the rest face drought, shrinking of the polar icecaps, deforestation and melting glaciers which have brought mankind to the brink of disaster.
The new Isla del Rey Hydrological Reserve, established by the Balboa District Municipal Council is located in the corregimientos of San Miguel, La Ensenada, La Guinea and La Esmeralda, covering an area of 9,822 hectares of both Government owned and private land. It is a forested area and it is fundamentally important for the protection of the natural resources, required for the production of sufficient water of high enough quality to sustain life and productivity in the region.
Global drought is not science fiction, and will be the cause of future wars, famine and thirst. Neither is the disappearance of all the ice covered mountain peaks and glaciers - such as the Andes or the Himalayas - which supply us with the liquid that is so vital to thousands of millions of human beings.
The reality is that recently water has become much more precious. Panama has a watery environment, but this will only continue if the various sources of fresh water are properly preserved, which in turn sustain the tropical ecosystems, protecting forests and catchment areas from the erosion and sedimentation that are synonymous with drought and death. Considering this Panamanian resource in the face of what could be a global disaster, the recent establishment of the Isla del Rey Hydrological Reserve on the largest island in the Las Perlas archipelago (also the second largest in the country), which will protect eleven watersheds with their main rivers and tributaries, is a model of administration at a municipal level that should encourage the creation of other hydrological reserves throughout the length and breadth of the country.
Above all it is a treasure without price that will soon increase in value as the crisis facing the world’s water resources deepens. |
