Emberá Wounaan Protest in Panama City

MiAMBIENTE is right next to my work at UDELAS - Albrook. When I arrived at 9am on Monday, it was packed with protestors. When I left at 4pm, it was even more packed, with children sleeping in the grass, people holding signs, and others dancing in their traditional lines and circles.

I found out four indigenous communities were there to demand the titles to land from the Minister of Environment, Emilio Sempris.

I later read that the process of titling the property has been held up at the Autoridad Nacional de Administración de Tierras (ANATI) since 2016, but that Sempris also had some issues with the demands, such as their claiming of collective ownership of the Reserva Hidrológica de Majé, which is protected government land.

I don't envy those who must negotiate between conservation projects and native land rights. Both are important, complicated, and often at odds. I hope they can find a way to give back indigenous control of rightful land while also ensuring environmental protection measures.