Bill 743.

Summary.

The bill proposes to declare a wooded area measuring 33 hectares plus 10822.53 m2 of property No. 129683, under location code 8720, a protected area. It places the land in the province of Panamá, District of Panamá, corregimiento (district) of Ancón, next to the corregimiento (district) of Betania and specifically the Villa de las Fuentes neighborhood. Article 2 describes the property's boundaries through a table of X and Y coordinates that also refers to properties 254679, 404213, 445646, 481302 and 481306. This description identifies the land to which the bill's objectives, conditions of use and prohibitions would apply.

The area's objectives would include reserving natural space in the city of Panamá to help maintain a balance between the natural environment and the urban habitat, prevent pollution and promote a healthy environment. The bill would also seek to protect the water regime of the Curundú River, conserve natural resources, flora and fauna, and maintain an ecological balance associated with environmental health in the city and surrounding areas. It includes among its purposes preserving opportunities for research, environmental education, recreation and ecological tourism for the Metropolitan Region's population and for national and foreign visitors. The explanatory statement places the wooded area beside the Metropolitan Natural Park (Parque Natural Metropolitano) and describes its vegetation, wildlife and part of the Curundú River's source.

Activities conducted in the protected area would have to be compatible with those objectives and with the state's policy for protecting, conserving and managing natural resources. The bill classifies the wooded area as property in the public domain and limits its use to the purposes established in the proposed law. This general rule links permissible activities to conservation of the site and to the environmental objectives defined for the area.

Human settlements and agricultural activities would be prohibited within the area. Hunting, taking plants or products derived from them, and extracting minerals or archaeological and historical objects would also be prohibited, subject to the exception provided by existing laws governing those matters. The prohibition would additionally cover tree cutting, burning, economic and social activities that affect or could affect the area's ecosystems, civil works, dumping rubbish and polluting existing watercourses. Natural or legal persons who breach these provisions would be sanctioned under applicable law.

The Ministry of Environment (Ministerio de Ambiente) would administer the protected area to ensure compliance with the objectives of the proposed law. It would also be empowered to issue the area's management plan by resolution. The bill provides that the law would take effect upon promulgation. It makes no express amendments to other laws; its explanatory statement cites Law No 41 of July 10, 1998, the General Environmental Law (Ley General de Ambiente), for its definition of a protected area, and Law No 1 of February 3, 1994, concerning the forestry legislation of the Republic of Panamá, as part of the legal background.

The bill's subject matter involves the National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional) and the Ministry of Environment (Ministerio de Ambiente). It could be relevant to residents of Villa de las Fuentes, landowners and users in the area, and people undertaking agricultural activities, civil works, research, environmental education, recreation or ecological tourism there.