Socio-Environmental Conflicts Caused by Hydroelectric Projects on the Río Chiriquí Viejo Constance Lambert-Tremblay Antonina Scheer Host institution: Fundación para el Desarrollo Integral, Comunitario y Conservación de los Ecosistemas en Panamá (FUNDICCEP) Cerro Punta, Chiriquí, República de Panamá * Teléfono – Fax (507) 771-2171 Correo:
[email protected] /
[email protected] Days spent collecting data in the field: 12 Days spent on the project in Panama City: 23 McGill University Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute 1 Table of Contents 1. Executive Summary………………………………………………………………….. 2 2. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………... 7 2.1. Context……………………………………………………………………….. 7 2.2. Host Institution……………………………………………………………… 10 2.3. Research Questions and Objectives…………………………………………. 10 3. Methodology………………………………………………………………………… 12 3.1. First Research Question……………………………………………………... 13 3.2. Second Research Question……………………………………………..…… 14 3.3. Third Research Question……………………………………………………. 16 4. Results………………………………………………………………………………. 17 4.1. First Research Question……………………………………………………... 17 4.2. Second Research Question…………………………………………………... 19 4.3. Third Research Question…………………………………………………….. 28 5. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………... 37 6. Appendix……………………………………………………………………………. 41 7. Bibliography………………………………………………………………………… 48 2 1. Executive Summary In the 1970s, Panama began constructing the first hydroelectric projects in order to promote the country’s energy independence. In the mid-nineties, the government initiated