Native Future is honored to receive a 21-month, $475,000 grant from the American Embassy in Panama to strengthen the Wounaan Territorial Monitoring program. The project, entitled Enhancing Indigenous Territorial Security and Environmental Governance in East Panama and Darien, formalizes and expands the unique cooperation between Wounaan communities and Panama’s environmental authorities that is holding individuals accountable for violating Panama’s environmental laws.
In just two years, the Wounaan Territorial Monitoring program has succeeded in getting Panama’s environmental protection laws enforced within Indigenous territories, helping conserve the biodiversity and ecosystems on which their way of life depends. The vigilance of the Wounaan team has resulted in 37 individuals cited for environmental infractions. Thirteen of the violators have been fined for their environmental damages; 23 more are under investigation and 11 of whom have been charged for criminal activity.
Wounaan territorial monitoring has been successful due to:
1) Wounaan monitoring technicians and the technologies they deploy to collect evidence and report environmental violations, and
2) the collaborative relationships Wounaan have developed with dependable Panamanian government staff and technicians as they shepherd the complaints through the legal process.
However, the program is still in its infancy. And, in May 2024, national elections were held, the government changed, and by early July, many of the officials working with Wounaan either left their position or were re-assigned to a different location. The change in administration presents risks and opportunities. Wounaan monitors and Native Future fear that the progress we’ve made the past two years could stall while new government officials learn their jobs and other priorities are established. To address this foreseeable challenge, Native Future applied for, and in July was awarded this grant.
The grant seizes on the opportunity to present the advantages of this collaborative environmental enforcement model to the new Panamanian government, work with the new leadership to improve upon the initiative, and strengthen more Indigenous monitoring teams and government counterparts to engage in the collaborative environmental protection model. Already, the new environmental leadership within the Panamanian government is showing interest in strengthening the collaborative territorial monitoring model and supporting its environmental governance objectives.
We will be working with three Indigenous implementing partners to meet project objectives: the Wounaan National Congress, Foundation for the Development of the Wounaan People, and GeoIndigena, an Indigenous-run geoinformatics organization. GeoIndigena, will develop an Indigenous-managed environmental monitoring and communications platform to alert a wider audience to environmental pressures and enforcement in their territories.
In the meantime, the day-to-day work of the Territorial Monitoring Program cannot abate. The support of the generous Native Future community of donors is still critical to the success of their work.
The dry season in Panama begins in December, and is when the majority of the invasions and deforestation take place. Native Future’s support - your support - is fundamental to their current and future success.
Thank you!
The US Embassy-funded grant is an important investment in a new and improved – future - territorial monitoring program. In two years, we expect Indigenous territorial monitors and Government of Panama to be working together more effectively, efficiently, and sustainably to protect their environment.
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