Bill 483.

Summary.

The bill declares the lower, middle and upper parts of the Cricamola River watershed a hydrological reserve and applies its provisions throughout that area. It directs the Ministry of Environment (Ministerio de Ambiente) to add the reserve to the National System of Protected Areas (Sistema Nacional de Áreas Protegidas) and allocate funds for protection, a management plan and public training. The ministry would also establish the reserve’s geographic coordinates. The text places the watershed in the Ngabe-Buglé comarca, Ñokribo region, from the Central Mountain Range to the Caribbean Sea, and identifies communities including Boca de Río, Bisira, Kankintú, Nutiví, Guoroni, Tolote, Mununi Trinchera and Mununi N° 3.

Its objectives include protecting tributaries, headwaters, associated forests and connected ecosystems; incorporating watershed protection into national planning; contributing to the national carbon-negative goal; and encouraging green businesses, a circular economy, and historical and anthropological research. The bill proposes a Multidisciplinary Center for Knowledge Management, Monitoring and Research and calls for restoration and reforestation along the riverbanks.

For governance of biocultural resources and rights, it creates the Governing Council of the Cricamola River Watershed (Consejo Directivo de la Cuenca Hidrográfica del Río Cricamola). Its membership brings together environmental, agricultural, Indigenous, tourism, municipal, academic and cultural representatives, along with local authorities from the district of Kankintú. Institutional appointees should preferably be regional directors or people with demonstrated knowledge of Ngabe Bugle culture. The Council elects a board by simple majority for a five-year term; all members may speak and vote, and ordinary meetings must occur at least 3 times a year. Its duties include developing policies and strategies, coordinating intercultural governance, adopting its internal rules and a five-year plan, and assessing ethnotourism and ecotourism initiatives.

The Ministry of Environment must establish the reserve’s management plan and coordinate the activities under it with the Council. The Ministry of Agricultural Development (Ministerio de Desarrollo Agropecuario) must prepare, together with the Council, an activities plan consistent with reserve management. The Panama Tourism Authority (Autoridad de Turismo de Panamá) must support compatible ecotourism and agritourism. These measures take account of the National Climate Change Plan. Programs and projects would be funded through institutional budgets, international donations or contributions, and other allocated resources.

The bill suspends approval of projects, works or activities with significant and permanent adverse effects on the river course and watershed, prohibits granting concessions within the watershed, and suspends approval of pending concessions. It gives the authorities one year to prepare the specified plans and assigns implementing regulations to the Executive Branch (Órgano Ejecutivo). Its provisions would concern the named public bodies, watershed communities, and the agricultural, tourism and environmental conservation sectors.