| Fast Facts |
location
465 miles from Panama City
ecoregions
Talamanca Montane Forests; Atlantic and Pacific Humid Isthmian Forests
project size
6,200 square miles
public lands
Bastimentos Marine Park, San San Pond Sack Wetlands, La Amistad International Park, Volcán National Park, Palo Seco and Fortuna forest reserves
partners
National Environmental Authority, ANCON, ADEPESCO (alliance of 11 indigenous fishing communities), ADESBO (alliance of local organizations and government agencies)
conservancy initiatives
Freshwater, Marine
natural events
Raptor migrations, August-October; birds like the three-wattled bellbird migrate locally from lowlands to mountains, March-September; turtle nesting: leatherback, May-June; loggerhead, April-September; green, July-August; hawksbill, July-September | |
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At "Mouths of the Bull," a lush coastal paradise supports a robust fishing and tourism economy -- but unchecked, both could unravel the very ecosystem on which they depend. |
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Sunrise over Bocas del Toro.
© Art Wolfe |
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From mountain ridges to coral reefs - and all the cloud forest, coastal swamps, mangrove cays, islands and seagrass beds in between -- Bocas del Toro unfolds over northwest Panama. The forested slopes of the Talamanca Mountains descend to low-lying wetlands -- an important link in the flyway for migratory birds such as the wood thrush and magnolia warbler. Sloths hang in the treetops, and manatees cruise sheltered lagoons.
Bocas del Toro's archipelago is an expanse of turquoise waters dotted with lushly forested island. The heart of it today is a 32,700-acre national marine park. Ngöbe Indians navigate the watery maze between islands and the mainland in dugout canoes called pangas. Four species of sea turtles nest on white-sand beaches and inhabit reefs laden with tropical fish. Throaty chirps heard within the dense jungles of Isla Bastimentos betray red poison dart frogs. The skin of these brilliantly colored, thumbnail-sized frogs produces a venom used by pre-Columbian Indians to poison their arrows. |
Poison dart frogs.
© Mark Moffett/Minden Pictures |
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Christopher Columbus landed here on his fourth and final New World voyage. His presence still looms large: The principal island and the bay itself bear his name, and legend has it that he gave the region its name upon seeing a large rock on Isla Bastimentos shaped like a bull. The province's capital city was a bustling port around the turn of the 20th century when United |
| Fruit, now Chiquita Banana, was headquartered on Isla Colón. Today the economy is driven by banana exports, subsitance fishing and a robust tourism industry -- both of which require healthy coastal and marine ecosystems. | |
But the clearing of trees to make way for agriculture and development is destroying native forest and releasing sediment and pollution into rivers, coastal swamps and the sea. Overfishing has led to the decline of populations of lobster, crabs and octopus, disrupting the marine food chain and signaling trouble for the local economy. The Nature Conservancy is working with ADEPESCO, an alliance of 11 indigenous fishing communities, to develop fishing regulations that will self-imposed by ADEPESCO members and hopefully approved by the Panama Maritime Authority. We are also exploring alternative income-generating activities such as fish farming and guiding ecotours for these fishermen to pursue during no-take periods.
Learn more about The Nature Conservancy's work in Panama. |
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| Conservation Profile |
targets
cloud forests, tapir, jaguar, white-lipped pecaries, mangrove forests, manatees, coral reefs, sea turtles
stresses
deforestation due to agriculture and cattle ranching, habitat destruction, overfishing of marine species, turtle poaching, unregulated tourism
strategies
strengthen local partner organizations, engage community in natural resource management, undertake scientific research, encourage expansion and improved management of public land, foster sustainable fishing and agriculture practices
results
supported community participation in management plan for Bastimentos National Marine Park, helped establish $25 million FIDECO Trust Fund to fund conservation projects in Panama, strategic plan developed to support ADESBO, local communities helped disseminate information on minimum catch size and weight of lobsters for sustainable harvesting | | | | |
