Ngöbe Campaign

For centuries the Ngöbe people have lived by the rivers in the remote hills of western Panama, but now the government of Panama sees profit in those rivers, and they have given concessions to subsidiaries of the American company AES to build a series of large hydroelectric dams. The dams would flood the Ngöbe's traditional territory, destroy their homes and fields, and break apart communities and families. To clear the way for the dams, the AES subsidiary and the Panamanian government are pressuring the Ngobe to sign away their rights on documents they can't read, and are using unscrupulous techniques to drive them out.

With our Panamanian partners, we have filed suit to stop this project, but that is only the first step, and we are anticipating a long uphill battle. Fighting corporations and governments is a challenging and expensive proposition, and we can only do it with the support of our members (we are a person-to-person charity: the majority of our funds come from individuals like you, not from grants). 

Or make a direct contribution to the Ngöbe campaign by clicking here.

Read more:

"Dam Nation" by Ellen L. Lutz (Cultural Survival Quarterly 31.4 (Winter, 2007))

"Panama Dam Construction Steps Up the Pace" by Ellen L. Lutz (Cultural Survival Quarterly 32.1 (Spring, 2008))

February 2008 Campaign e-Update:  Crisis in Panama

April 2008 e-News: Helping the Ngöbe Keep Their Land  

May 2008 e-News: Helping the Ngöbe Keep Their Land

June 2008 e-News: Round-the-clock Construction Continues

July/August 2008 e-News: UN Expert Denounces Hydrolectric Dam

October 2008: Headway on Ngobe vs. Panama Case

19 November 2008: Progress on Ngobe vs. Panama Case