Panama completes first climate-related relocation

Today, the Guna indigenous people of the overcrowded, flood-prone island of Gadi Sugdub in Panama will finally receive the keys to their long-awaited new homes on the mainland. Community members have been looking forward to this day since they first sought government support for their relocation in 2010.

The opening of the mainland site, Isber Yala, is a moment to celebrate. The Panamanian government has done more than most governments around the world to support community-led relocation programs to address long-term climate change impacts such as sea level rise.

Since Human Rights Watch last reported on the Guna case JulyPanama has made meaningful progress in supporting them in their new locations, including by building cultural gathering spaces in the traditional Guna style. These efforts can protect collective cultural rights during the relocation process.

But as new sites open, governments still need to take action to address whether they can meet basic community needs, such as access to water and adequate sanitation.

“Most people are excited and they want to relocate…but they also see the[remaining]problems and don’t want to relocate until priority needs are addressed,” Guna community leader Blas Lopez told Human Rights Watch last week. He singled out garbage disposal, water supply, and the readiness of the Isber Yala school as major issues. It is critical that the government continue its efforts to listen to and address the needs of the community.

“There are many challenges ahead, but this will not discourage us,” Lopez said. “We understand … (the move) will be a process.”

Gardi Sugdub shows us how community-led, government-backed planned relocation can be a means of climate adaptation, but their experience is not without its challenges. Panama should learn from lesson and drafting a national policy to better safeguard human rights in future climate-related, community-led planned relocations.

Globally, an estimated 400 communities have completed or are in the process of planned relocation due to natural disasters, many of which are being exacerbated by climate change.

Panama and every country with a coastline needs to plan for sea-level rise and other climate change impacts, including by developing policies and funding to support community-led, rights-respecting resettlement as a last resort.