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Picture Courtesy: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/climate-change/rising-tide-shifting-lives-panama-becomes-first-nation-to-evacuate-island-community-over-climate-impact-96580

Context: Panama Evacuates Island Community Due to Climate Impact.

Details

• Around 300 indigenous Guna families on the island of Gardi Sugdub in Panama are facing a decision to leave their ancestral home due to rising sea levels.
• Rising sea levels are disrupting the lives of the indigenous Gunas, poisoning freshwater reserves and eroding the island’s foundation.
• The evacuation is not just about packing belongings, but also a cultural upheaval, forcing severance from the land that has nurtured the Gunas for generations.
• The relocation of the Gunas offers a glimpse into the future where island nations and coastal communities may have to confront the difficult choice between abandoning their homes or succumbing to the rising tide.

About Panama

• Panama is bounded by the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south.
• The highest peak is an inactive volcano, Barú, which reaches an elevation of 11,401 feet.
• The Pacific coastline is extended by the Azuero Peninsula and the Gulf of Panama and by numerous headlands and bays.
• It is bordered by Costa Rica and Colombia and is known for the Panama Canal, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
• Panama has over 1,600 islands off its coasts and is home to the largest rainforest in the Western Hemisphere outside the Amazon Basin.
• The country is home to indigenous people, Europeans, Afro-Caribbeans, and immigrants from around the world.
• The Panama Canal, one of the two most strategic artificial waterways in the world, is approximately 80 kilometres long and was built by the United States. It has been owned and administered by the Republic of Panama since 1999. The canal consists of locks that raise and lower water levels to facilitate ship passage through the continental divide.

Source:

Panama

Britannica

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