Panama communities challenge canal expansion project in Supreme Court

Communities in Panama that would have to relocate under the Panama Canal's plan to build a $1.6 billion reservoir filed a supreme court challenge on Thursday, saying the project intended to enable more vessel transits is unconstitutional.

Some 2,500 people would be affected by construction of the Rio Indio reservoir, according to figures from the canal's authority, which has said it needs to secure more water after a drought forced it to restrict ship transit from spring 2023 to early 2024.

The reservoir would increase the canal's transit capacity by up to 15 vessels per day during the dry season and provide drinking water to Panama's 4.5 million people.

Coordinadora Campesina por la Vida, the farmers group that filed the lawsuit, said most residents do not want to be relocated. The challenge contends the project violates the constitution on six grounds, including disregard for human rights and environmental treaties signed by the country.

It also alleges the canal authority failed to properly consult the communities affected.

The canal authority did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

An alternate project to expand a reservoir fed by the Bayano River, which would not require the displacement of families, should be considered by the canal instead, the group said.

"The canal has not done things right," Santander Tristan, a lawyer for the communities, said in court. "The Rio Indio project must be stopped and a process of dialogue opened."

Florentin Chiru, Vice President of Coordinadora Campesina por la Vida, said the canal authority lied when it said 85 per cent of the communities it polled supported the project.

"They have never asked the crucial question; gentlemen, do you want to leave your land, yes or no? So what kind of census is that," Chiru said.

He said the group also objects to a large dam that would be built to contain the Indio River. Environmentalists have said dams are reducing Panama's biodiversity.

About 100 farmers and residents from the Rio Indio area protested outside the court on Thursday. "We are not opposed to progress. We oppose the withdrawal of our land without asking us if that is what we want," said 64-year-old Teodoro Rivas.

The reservoir is part of an $8.5 billion project to expand the canal so it can handle more vessel traffic and demand for port services, Panama's President Jose Mulino said on Thursday.

(Reporting by Elida Moreno and Marianna Parraga; Writing by Sarah Morland; Editing by Natalia Siniawski and Cynthia Osterman)