Helping the Ngobe Keep Their Land
For centuries the Ngobe 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 Ngobe'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). If you are not a member yet, please consider joining us; if you are already a member, please consider making an additional donation to help this urgent effort to save the Ngobe's homeland while it can still be saved.
News and Updates
- Panama Update [March 20, 2008]
- Panama Update [February 25, 2008]
What you can do
Send a letter or email to Panama's Environmental
Protection Agency.