Developer uses cover of national holiday to clear rainforest near Colon, Panama
mongabay.comNovember 06, 2009
The clearing, conducted by a transportation cooperative called Serafin Niño, from Colon, is occurring in the buffer zone of the Galeta Protected Landscape and near Galeta Point Marine Laboratory, a facility of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. The land will likely be used to store transportation equipment that moves cargo to and from the ports of Colon and the Free Zone.
![]() Clearing near Galeta. Photo taken November 3, 2009 |
Destruction of the mangrove forests is being fueled by port expansion and the burgeoning population growth. Researchers at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute estimate that on the Caribbean side of the Panama Canal the mangrove cover has dropped from 5,000 hectares to 3,000 hectares in the last ten years.
![]() ![]() Clearing near Galeta. Photos taken November 6, 2009 |
























