Panama Transmission Line IV Threatens Indigenous Land Rights

CIEL supports the Territorial Organization of Ngäbe, Buglé and Campesinos of the Northern Region of Santa Fe, the Movement for the Defense of the Territories and Ecosystems of Boca del Toro (MODETEAB), and the Alliance for Conservation and Development (ACD) in raising concerns about the lack of consultation with indigenous communities on the Transmission Line IV project, PL IV. Together we have filed a complaint challenging the International Finance Corporation (IFC)’s investment in this project.

The Transmission Line IV, or PL IV, project would create an electrical transmission line along 330 kilometers of Panama’s Atlantic Coast. Traversing the ancestral lands and territories of indigenous communities and some of the last untouched rainforests in the country, the transmission line not only threatens the rights of local communities and the environment in a country vulnerable to climate change: Even further, it would threaten to deepen these consequences by opening up the region to further development — from new roads to massive mining projects.

Though Ngäbe and Buglé indigenous communities have occupied these territories for thousands of years, the government of Panama has failed to legally recognize their collective right to the land, a right protected by the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. This lack of recognition has left indigenous communities unable to exercise their right to free, prior, and informed consent with regard to development projects like PL IV — meaning that indigenous communities could lose not only their access to their lands, but also to the cultural values, traditions, and ethnic identities associated with those ancestral territories. New development projects in the region could also threaten people’s livelihoods while simultaneously increasing the cost of living in the area.

Moreover, the transmission line — and the infrastructure build-out that would accompany it — would negatively affect some of the last remaining undisturbed tropical rainforests in Panama — part of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor, an area high in biological diversity, and an area that has long been under the protection of indigenous peoples. Heavy machinery and mining in these forests have already begun to pollute the rivers that serve as the primary water source for many indigenous communities, and the new transmission line would lead to further deforestation and environmental damage. Studies have shown that indigenous communities are some of the most effective stewards of forests and land against climate change; yet new development projects could exacerbate climate change both by accelerating deforestation and by undermining the control indigenous communities have over their lands.

The IFC, the private arm of the World Bank, is working with the state-owned Electric Transmission Company, SA (ETESA) to finance, construct, and operate PL IV. The IFC has earmarked an estimated budget of $1.9 million dollars to assist in developing the project. Despite persistent uncertainties about the details and impacts of the project, the government of Panama is moving forward with the bidding process for the project with expectations of beginning construction in 2019.

Local organizations MODETAB, ACD, and the Territorial Organization of Ngäbe, Bugle and Campesinos of the Northern Region of Santa Fe are working with CIEL to bring their concerns to the Compliance/Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), the accountability mechanism of the IFC. Communities argue that ETESA’s failure to consult with indigenous communities about the project violates the IFC’s social and environmental policies, including their policies on indigenous peoples’ rights, and have requested a dialogue with ETESA to demand that their right to the land be recognized and respected. The complaint was deemed eligible by the CAO in July 2018, and the case is now moving forward.

MODETEAB was founded in 2006 to advocate for Ngäbe and Buglé communities threatened with the dispossession of their ancestral territories. CIEL has accompanied MODETEAB and members of these indigenous communities on numerous fronts since 2018.

UPDATES:

• On July 17th, 2024, indigenous communities from the Province of Bocas del Toro in Panama were the victims of intimidation and forced evictions. Partners from MODETEAB issued a public statement denouncing evictions while stressing the history of violence, discrimination and repression against indigenous peoples in Panama. To ensure the safety and protection of indigenous families and communities CIEL alerted international authorities. Panama’s historical failure to grant collective land rights and titles for indigenous lands has left communities at the epicenter of conflicts with developers and other outsiders that perpetuate rights violations. Although this issue has been raised with the government of Panama for more than a decade by communities, human rights experts and even the World Bank, the government has failed to act.

Last updated March 2025