Indigenous Voices Ignored in Financing Panamanian Dam Project
Indigenous Voices Ignored in Financing Panamanian Dam Project
By Kwame Buist
AMSTERDAM, Jun 2 2015 (IPS) - Indigenous people who would be directly affected by the impact of a hydroelectric project in Panama were not consulted despite national and international human rights obligations to obtain their free, prior and informed consent, according to a just-released report.
Acting on behalf of communities in Panama’s Ngöbe-Buglé indigenous territory, the Movimiento 10 de Abril (M-10) had filed a complaint with the Independent Complaints Mechanism (ICM) of the Dutch FMO and German DEG development banks alleging that the Barro Blanco dam project which the banks were financing would lead to the flooding of the communities’ homes, schools, and religious, archaeological and cultural sites.
The two banks were accused of failing to adequately assess the risks to indigenous rights and the environment before approving a 50 million dollar loan to GENISA, the project’s developer.
The independent panel’s report, released May 29, found that the “lenders should have sought greater clarity on whether there was consent to the project from the appropriate indigenous authorities prior to project approval,” adding that “the lenders have not taken the resistance of the affected communities seriously enough.”
More:
http://www.ipsnews.net/2015/06/indigenous-voices-ignored-in-financing-panamanian-dam-project/
Environment & Energy:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/112786382
