The Impact of Chan 75 on Ngäbe Communities
In 2007, Panama’s environmental authority (ANAM) approved the construction of a 223-megawatt hydroelectric dam on the Changuinola River in Bocas del Toro province. Chan 75 (also known as Chan I) was completed in 2011 by AES Changuinola, a Panamanian subsidiary of the US-based AES Corporation.
The construction of Chan 75 has had a profound impact on the environment, directly affecting four Indigenous Ngäbe communities: Charco la Pava, Guayabal, Changuinola Arriba, and Valle del Rey. For generations, these communities relied on the river and its surrounding land for transportation, fishing, and farming. However, due to the dam, they have lost access to cultivable land and the river, which has not only disrupted their livelihoods but also weakened their social fabric. The outward migration that followed the dam’s completion has led to a loss of community cohesion, cultural practices, and traditional knowledge.
From the beginning, the Ngäbe communities have firmly opposed the dam, but AES’s ‘divide-and-conquer’ tactics have created deep divisions within them. Many Ngäbe families have not received fair compensation for their hardships, and we urgently petition the government for reparations. It is imperative that our Ngäbe families receive justice and appropriate compensation for the losses and damages caused by Chan 75.
Well, compensation was given, but it wasn’t for everything—not for us on the lake, on the riverbank, who lost everything.
Life now is not like it used to be. Life used to be easier. There were fish in the river, everything was free, and I would go to the bush. There were animals there. And so on. But when the company came, well, everything changed.
— Virgilio
The government and the company have treated me badly. They have treated me badly since the start. In January 2008, I was beaten up when we were opposing the Chan 75 project. I was mistreated by the police.
But there are people who will go and say that [the company] has treated us well. That’s a lie. Because up to now, I have not seen anybody who has a better life.
— Enildo
Life has changed. It is more difficult. There is no work now, so what happened when the dam filled? My family left. They went to the city to survive. We are suffering because [of the lack of] food and because life is now so different. I am an old man alone in this place. I can’t connect with my family. It was different before. All my children and grandchildren were here, everybody was here. Now, I don’t have a connection; I don’t have resources. I am alone. The family has disintegrated.
— Señor Fermín
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