Indigenous Environmental Security Project Canceled

In July 2024, Native Future launched a new 21-month project, Enhancing Indigenous Territorial Security and Environmental Governance in Darien and East Panama. Funded by a grant from the US Embassy in Panama, the project was predicated on the results of the Wounaan Territorial Monitoring Program which is holding people accountable for environmental damages. To date, 32 cases of illegal logging and deforestation are being investigated. In the words of Territorial Monitoring Program Coordinator, Donalds Negria, “Mi Ambiente (Panama's Ministry of Environment) now sees the potential in the environmental protection work we are doing.”

This collaboration is fragile, however. Pressure on Wounaan territories has not abated and protocols for monitoring and reporting un-permitted agricultural burns and forest fires are unclear. Court-ordered measures that restrain violators from further deforestation must see better enforcement. These are some of the issues identified in a January 2025 meeting between Wounaan community leaders and monitors, and officials from Mi Ambiente. Unfortunately, at the end of February, the grant was canceled by the US Department of State.

Wounaan participants have described the project as “impactful” and the “first of its kind”. It facilitated face-face, idea-sharing and problem-solving conversations between Panama’s environmental authorities and Wounaan monitors. Rio Hondo’s leader, Mr. Puchicama, explained “Before, we would present proposals but there wasn’t an immediate response from the government. This time, there was, and there is follow-up. We are excited”.

Wounaan discussing fire management with Mi Ambiente and SENAFRONT in Puerto Lara.

Panamanian officials are likewise enthusiastic. “With this new government we see a total change. Now there is more willingness to work together and more rapprochement, seeking strategies for collaborative forest monitoring with Wounaan territories,” says Donalds Negria.

The grant cancellation leaves us with a loss of approximately $350,000 over the next two years. Wounaan feel it is vital to sustain the momentum that the project has garnered, and press on. So, we are reaching out to more funders to help us ensure this important work continues, even on a limited budget. Can you help us fill the gap?