Panama becomes leader articulator in protecting natural heritage across countries

Panama’s Foreign Affairs Minister Erika Mouynes chaired a tour of the Coiba AIP Scientific Station, which provides infrastructure, logistics, and generates capacities for scientific research, monitoring, and scientific tourism in the Coiba National Park, its Special Marine Protection Zone, and its area of influence.  

As part of her climate diplomacy agenda, Canciller Mouynes visited the First Laboratory of the Coiba-AIP Scientific Station for marine ecology and biological oceanography in the Eastern Pacific, which takes advantage of the privileged location of the Coiba National Park and its area of influence for the generation of knowledge on tropical terrestrial and marine biodiversity. 

“We are going to involve the international community in this project, generate resources, interest, bring scientists; this is an area that has not been publicized and needs greater visibility,” said Foreign Minister Erika Mouynes during the tour with SENACYT Secretary-General Dr. Eduardo Ortega Barria and Dr. Edgardo Díaz Ferguson, researcher and executive director of Coiba AIP. 

Mouynes later joined the Deputy Minister of Multilateral Affairs and Cooperation, Ana Luisa Castro Novey, and the Mayor of Soná and Santa Catalina, Alcides Hidalgo, to inaugurate the workshops on Sustainable Use and Protection of the Oceans in Coiba.  

This visit follows her participation in the inauguration of the expansion and renaming of the “Hermandad” marine reserve in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, which adds to the commitment to the interconnection of the Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor, promoted by Panama. 

On 8 June 2021, Panama declared the protection of the coastal marine areas surrounding the Coiba National Park, an initiative that joined countries such as Costa Rica and Colombia. It is worth mentioning that in four years Coiba AIP has had 31 scientists and has carried out 15 research projects. 

In April 2021, the first phase of the first living laboratory in the Panamanian Pacific specialized in marine ecology and biological oceanography was inaugurated. 

Read more about Panama’s commitment to ecological programs including ocean conservation here.