Join us for Tropilunch
“From Canal Zone to national parks: a historical analysis of the
urban forests in Panama City
Talk Given By
Ricardo Brown-Salazar
PhD Candidate, SNRE, University of Florida
April 9, 2013
12:45 pm – 1:45pm
376 Grinter Hall
Content
Urban forests in Panama City are closely linked to the history of the Panama Canal. The idea of building a
canal that will let ships cross from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean dates back to 1514, when Vasco Núñez
de Balboa became the first known European exploring the route to the Pacific Ocean. In 1524, King Carlos I
from Spain suggested the digging of a canal through Panama. In 1881, Ferdinand de Lesseps started building
a canal but his project ended in bankruptcy. With the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty, in 1903, the United States got
the rights to build the canal receiving also what was called the Canal Zone, an 8 Km strip of land on either
side of the canal route in perpetuity. This controversial move made by the French negotiator Bunau-Varilla
turned this treaty into a source of conflict for both countries. After the Torrijos-Carter treaty signed in 1977 a
20-year land return process began in 1979 where forest lands from the former Canal Zone were converted to
protected areas by Panama. Six protected areas are located in or next to Panama City. Five protected areas
are on the former Canal Zone: Ancon Hill Natural Reserve, Metropolitan Natural Park, Soberania National
Park, Cruces Trail National Park, and Chagres National Park. The sixth area is the Panama Bay Wetlands
Protected Area, a Ramsar site located on the east side of Panama City. During the last decades, these urban
forests and their buffer zones have been receiving lot of pressure to change their land use. Numerous
conflicts have risen between “developers”, the government, and a growing environmental-oriented local
community. A historical analysis of these urban forests, their designation as protected areas, and the
conflicts around them is presented.
Biography
Ricardo Brown-Salazar attended the forestry program at Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Forestales in
Siguatepeque, Honduras, where he received the degree of Dasonomist, then he moved to La Ceiba,
Honduras, working as forest consultant pursuing at the same time his Forest Engineer Degree at the
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras. Upon graduation he was employed on an International
Tropical Timber Organization project being in charge of long-term forestry research and the tropical
silviculture program. Ricardo moved to Turrialba, Costa Rica where he obtained his M.Sc. in Tropical Forest
Management from CATIE. He returned to Panama, his home country, becoming a pioneer on promoting
community-based forestry as a tool for forest conservation through sustainable forest management. He has
served in a variety of positions at all levels in different Central American countries, from forestry consultant,
environmental advocate to the National Forest Service Head position in Panama. After receiving a Fulbright
fellowship, now Ricardo is working to finish his PhD in Interdisciplinary Ecology.
Tropilunch is a weekly seminar run by graduate students from the Tropical Conservation and Development (TCD)
Program. It provides a forum for a range of discussions and presentations related to TCD work and research. Students
are provided with an opportunity to present and discuss their research projects with peers and faculty. In addition,
discussion sessions on issues of current interest are also held. Visiting scholars and conservation practitioners also
participate when available. It is held every Tuesday at 12:45 p.m. in Grinter 376.