TY - JOUR
T1 - Navigating the evolution of marine policy in Panama
T2 - Current policies and community responses in the Pearl Islands and Bocas del Toro Archipelagos of Panama
AU - Spalding, Ana K.
AU - Suman, Daniel O.
AU - Mellado, Maria Eugenia
N1 - Funding Information:
This paper is the result of collaborative work between the authors and of support from several institutions and individuals. The authors would like to thank the Panamanian Secretariat for Science, Technology and Innovation (SENACYT) for financing the project “Land tenure in Panama: Social and Environmental Implications for Panama” (Dr. Ana K. Spalding through Grant no. ITE12-003 ); the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) for logistics and offering a comfortable work and meeting space; Conservation International (CI) for financing work in the Pearl Island Archipelago through the consulting project “Survey of baseline information, evaluation of governability and market potential of the responsible green lobster fishery in the Pearl Islands Archipelago Special Management Zone (M. Eugenia Mellado). In particular, the authors would like to thank the different government agencies (National Environmental Authority – ANAM, Panamanian Aquatic Resources Authority – ARAP, National Land Titling Program – PRONAT, National Land Authority – ANATI, the Panamanian Air and Naval Service – SENAN); non-governmental organizations (MarViva, CIAM, CEALP, PNUD-GEF, CEASPA, COOPERLAS); and all the individuals who participated in the workshops held in Panama City and in the Pearl Islands. The authors would also like to extend their gratitude to the local authorities and communities of Bocas del Toro and the Pearl Islands; in the latter they would like to particularly recognize the participation of the Guna community for the collaboration with this research. Last, but not least, the authors would like to thank local academics and experts: Stanley Heckadon, Guillermo Castro, Charlotte Elton, Francisco Herrera, and Lucas Pacheco for their time and thoughtful perspectives on this topic.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Elsevier Ltd.
Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2015/12/1
Y1 - 2015/12/1
N2 - Recent changes in marine policy in Panama are closely related to sustained expansion of the Panamanian economy in the past ten years. Important drivers of economic growth such as the Panama Canal expansion, tourism, and real estate development directly involve marine and coastal areas. Therefore, maintaining the quality of these environments, as well as the sustainability of the human communities that depend on them, calls for the implementation of adequate management and planning policies. In light of a complex history of marine and coastal policy in Panama, current institutional restructuring processes, and a growing recognition of the importance of marine and coastal geographies, the authors aim to document the current status of, and community response to, marine and coastal policy in Panama, analyzed in terms of three important cross-cutting sectors: tourism, fishing, and conservation. To do so, the authors introduce two case studies: one in the Pearl Islands Archipelago and one in Bocas del Toro, each with varying degrees of participation or involvement in each sector, to illustrate the range of adaptations to change occurring in coastal communities. Based on an in-depth policy analysis and the case studies, the authors suggest that there are important administrative and structural gaps in the legislation and institutions that enforce them, as well as a lack of integration across institutions. In particular, the authors highlight the lack of clear marine and coastal property regimes as an obstacle to the implementation of integrative marine policies in Panama.
AB - Recent changes in marine policy in Panama are closely related to sustained expansion of the Panamanian economy in the past ten years. Important drivers of economic growth such as the Panama Canal expansion, tourism, and real estate development directly involve marine and coastal areas. Therefore, maintaining the quality of these environments, as well as the sustainability of the human communities that depend on them, calls for the implementation of adequate management and planning policies. In light of a complex history of marine and coastal policy in Panama, current institutional restructuring processes, and a growing recognition of the importance of marine and coastal geographies, the authors aim to document the current status of, and community response to, marine and coastal policy in Panama, analyzed in terms of three important cross-cutting sectors: tourism, fishing, and conservation. To do so, the authors introduce two case studies: one in the Pearl Islands Archipelago and one in Bocas del Toro, each with varying degrees of participation or involvement in each sector, to illustrate the range of adaptations to change occurring in coastal communities. Based on an in-depth policy analysis and the case studies, the authors suggest that there are important administrative and structural gaps in the legislation and institutions that enforce them, as well as a lack of integration across institutions. In particular, the authors highlight the lack of clear marine and coastal property regimes as an obstacle to the implementation of integrative marine policies in Panama.
KW - Bocas del Toro
KW - Conservation
KW - Fishing
KW - Integrated coastal management
KW - Marine and coastal property regimes
KW - Panama
KW - Pearl Islands
KW - Tourism
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U2 - 10.1016/j.marpol.2015.09.020
DO - 10.1016/j.marpol.2015.09.020
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84942251338
VL - 62
SP - 161
EP - 168
JO - Marine Policy
JF - Marine Policy
SN - 0308-597X
ER -