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World Heritage Committee Commits to Protecting Panama World Heritage Site |
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CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND, Jun. 27 -/E-Wire/--
The UN's World Heritage Committee yesterday decided to take action based on a petition filed by the Center for Biological Diversity and more than 30 other organizations in the United States, Panama, and Costa Rica to ascertain the level of threats faced by La Amistad International Park. The park is a World Heritage site shared by Panama and Costa Rica that protects the largest and most diverse virgin rainforest remaining in Central America. It is one of the last refuges for such endangered species as the jaguar, ocelot, Central American tapir, resplendent quetzal and harpy eagle.
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The World Heritage Committee designated the Costa Rican portion of La Amistad in 1983 and listed the park as a single World Heritage site in 1990, after Panama nominated its portion of La Amistad in 1989. The decision to name La Amistad as a World Heritage site was based on the fact that it is an outstanding example of ongoing biological evolution and provides significant habitat for threatened species.
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Conservationists and indigenous groups submitted the petition in April 2007 to list La Amistad as a World Heritage site "in danger," due chiefly to the pending construction of four hydroelectric dams on the site's border. The dams - three to be operated by the U.S.-based AES Corporation, one by the Colombian-owned Hidroecologica del Teribe - are to be built on two important rivers originating inside La Amistad: the Changuinola and the Bonyic. The resulting changes in the river system will alter the ecology of La Amistad by blocking water passage and creating large, standing reservoirs. An "in danger" listing would require the governments of Panama and Costa Rica, in consultation with the World Heritage Committee, to adopt a plan for corrective measures to restore La Amistad's outstanding values. Listing would also permit the World Heritage Committee to allocate financial assistance from the World Heritage Fund.
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Said Ezequiel Miranda, a community leader living near La Amistad: "These projects would be detrimental to indigenous cultures which have historically been affected by proposals for supposed 'development.' " In fact, the reservoirs will flood several villages along the Changuinola, displacing several hundred Ngobe indigenous people. And the dams would have massive negative impacts on many diadromous species of fish and shrimp living in the rivers, which migrate between fresh- and saltwater. The dams would end this migration.
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The World Heritage Committee has requested that Panama and Costa Rica allow a joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN visit to the site. Following the visit, the two countries will be asked to report on the site's conservation status for the next session of the World Heritage Committee in 2008. If adequate steps are not taken by both countries, La Amistad may join the World Heritage "in danger" list as recommended by the petition.
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According to Peter Galvin, conservation director with the Center for Biological Diversity, "The decision adopted by the World Heritage Committee demonstrates a strong commitment to the conservation of World Heritage sites. We hope this sets a precedent for protecting sites under threat from hydroelectric dam construction."
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Linda Barrera, a Panamanian citizen and law clerk for the International Environmental Law Project, which authored the petition, said: "This is a step in the right direction because it encourages community groups supporting this petition that their efforts were not in vain. Somebody was listening, and hopefully it will lead Panama to reevaluate its policies and decision relating to better conservation for La Amistad."
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For now, the threats to La Amistad remain serious and immediate, as dam construction is still pending.
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The Center for Biological Diversity is a nonprofit conservation organization with more than 35,000 members dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places. www.biologicaldiversity.org. Contact Info:
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Peter Galvin
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Tel : 520-907-1533
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Jason Gray
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Tel : 406-781-4154 Website : the Center for Biological Diversity
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