ENVIROMENTAL ISSUES IN PANAMA CITY

ESE150/C1

Submitted by: Cabrera, Aubrey Camille C. Submitted to: Engr. Bonifacio Magtibay

September 21, 2013

TABLE OF CONTENTS Background Pollution Problems Sources/Causes Solution Recommendation References Annexes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 3 4 5-6 7 8-9

BACKGROUND Panama is located in Central America between Costa Rica to the north and Colombia to the south. It is at the southern end of the Central American isthmus (a narrow piece of land that connects two larger land areas) and forms the land bridge between North and South America. The nation is S-shaped and runs from east to west with a length of 772 kilometers and a width that varies from 60 to 177 kilometers. Panama has an area of 77,381 square kilometers which makes it slightly smaller than South Carolina. This area consists of 75,990 square kilometers of land and 2,210 square kilometers of water. The nation borders the Caribbean Sea on one coast and the Pacific Ocean on the other. The 80-kilometer Panama Canal cuts the nation in half and joins the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The combined coastlines of Panama are 2,857 kilometers long. The nation's border with Costa Rica is 330 kilometers, and its border with Colombia is 225 kilometers in length. Panama's capital and largest city, Panama City, with a population of 827,828, is located on the Pacific coastline of the country. Panama culture is a blend of the cultures of several indigenous ethnic groups. The notable races in Panama are Indians, Antillean Blacks, Guaym and Cuna and all of them are steeped in their own cultures and folklores. The noteworthy aspects of the society and culture of Panama are reflected in the food, music, dances, languages and religions of the country. Cuna, a famous tribe in Panama, is known for its matriarchal societies and closely-packed communities. The different provinces in Panama believe in their own unique folklores. Roman Catholicism is the religion followed by the masses in Panama. Black Christ Festival is a big day of celebration for Panamanians. Spanish in the national language of Panama, but English and various local dialects are quite popular. Panama is the place, which has popularized certain forms of music such as salsa, jazz, calypso, Vallento and Mento. Folk dances in Panama, such as Tamborito, Pasillo and Contradanza are very famous throughout the nation. The cuisine of Panama shares many characteristics with the food of Latin American countries and involves lots of corn, seafood, shellfish and fish. The constitution of the ethnic groups of Panama is Amerindian and mestizo: 70%, Indian: 14%, White: 10%, Amerindian: 6% and their official language is Spanish. The Panamanian economy is dependent on trade. The canal provides the main source of economic activity, although efforts to diversify the economy are ongoing. The service sector is the dominant part of the Panamanian economy and continues to grow. In 1997, the service sector accounted for 67 percent of the nation's GDP, but by 2000 that percentage had grown to 80 percent. As such, the country's economy is geared toward banking, commerce, and maritime services. Services provide 67 percent of employment. Agriculture, including forestry and fisheries, only accounts for about 7 percent of the nation's GDP. However, they provide 25 percent of the country's employment and provide the main exports. Among the country's major crops are bananas, coffee, rice, and sugar cane. Like agriculture, industry only accounts for a small percentage of the GDP when compared to the service sector. Industry provides about 25 percent of the country's GDP and 8 percent of employment. Panamanian industry includes manufacturing, construction, mining, and processed foods.

1 POLLUTION PROBLEMS

Noise Pollution

Some 70% of people in Panama are affected by noise levels greater than those allowed by international standards, according to a new study. Vehicles are the major source of noise contamination, according to the research carried out by the University of Panama. In some areas traffic noise is as high as 81.5 decibels, well above the limit of 65 decibels considered safe by the World Health organization (WHO). Soil Pollution

The degradation of Panama's soil is increasing at a rapid pace. Between 1970 and 1987 the rate of erosion increased by almost 60 percent, seriously affecting 27 percent of the nation's total land surface. This tendency continues and is especially acute in eastern Chiriqui, northern Veraguas and Cocle and the western extreme of Panama province, according to a report entitled "Geo-perspectives on the environment 2000," which was compiled by the government's Environmental Evaluation and Information and Early Warning Division. Air Pollution

In the city, air pollution levels exceed international norms of acceptability, with about 90 percent of the problem coming from vehicular emissions, according to Vaco Duke Hernndez, the deputy director of the University of Panama's Specialized Analysis Unit. Water Pollution

Only 79% of rural dwellers have pure drinking water. Ligia Castro de Doens, the deputy director of the Water Center for the Humid Tropics in Latin America and the Caribbean (CATHALAC) told that Panama have serious problems in the rivers all around the Republic of Panama especially those that run through the city and empty into the bay. Another serious problem is sewage treatment in the metropolitan region, especially Panama City proper, where 21 sewage pipes and five rivers which run through the city dump dirty water into the Panama bay, which has become a big sewer,.

2 SOURCES/CAUSES Food industry in Panama was 55.22% in terms of contribution to the water pollution which is the largest part of contributor of pollutants. Many human activities in Panama unintentionally add nitrogen and phosphorus or other pollutants to surface waters. Over many decades, urban development, farming, industry and man-made pollutants such as partially treated sewage from homes and businesses have been pumped into waterways for disposal, causing a decline in the health of the rivers and streams of the Panama. Sediments from soil at construction sites can wash into waterways, which can create problems for aquatic life. Turbidity cloudy water caused by suspended matter reduces the amount of sunlight able to reach submersed plants. Siltation the settling out of the sand, silt and other matter suspended in the water onto the bottom of the water body destroys submersed grass beds and other bottom-dwelling plants and animals, in addition to impacting drainage and navigation. And this is the effect of doing the Panama Canal. The combustion of gasoline and other hydrocarbon fuels in automobiles, trucks, and jet airplanes produces several primary pollutants: nitrogen oxides, gaseous hydrocarbons, and carbon monoxide, as well as large quantities of particulates, chiefly lead. Panama is where transportation is the main cause of air pollution, nitrogen dioxide tints the air, blending with other contaminants and the atmospheric water vapor to produce brown smog. In cities, air may be severely polluted not only by transportation but also by the burning of fossil fuels (oil and coal) in generating stations, factories, office buildings, and homes and by the incineration of garbage. The massive combustion produces tons of ash, soot, and other particulates responsible for the gray smog. The industrial may include noises from various industries operating in cities like transportation, vehicular movements such as car, motor, truck, train, tempo, motor cycle, aircrafts, rockets, defence equipments, explosions etc. The disturbing qualities of noise emitted by industrial premises are generally its loudness, its distinguishing features such as tonal or impulsive components, and its intermittency and duration. Soil pollution is a result of many activities and experiments done by mankind which end up contaminating the soil. Panama suffer in this kind of environmental issue because of industrial wastes such as harmful gases and chemicals, agricultural pesticides, fertilizers and insecticides are the most common causes of soil pollution, ignorance towards soil management and related systems, unfavorable and harmful irrigation practices, improper septic system and management and maintenance of the same, leakages from sanitary sewage, acid rains, when fumes released from industries get mixed with rains, fuel leakages from automobiles, that get washed away due to rain and seep into the nearby soil, and unhealthy waste management techniques, which are characterized by release of sewage into the large dumping grounds and nearby streams or rivers.

3 SOLUTIONS Actions done by local

According to Vaco Duke Hernndez, the deputy director of the University of Panama's Specialized Analysis Unit "We have to intensify our efforts to inspect and remove vehicles that contaminate the air and become serious public health threats," he recommended. Other necessary steps, in Duke Hernndez's opinion, are the extension of the urban air monitoring system to measure a greater number of pollutants, measure in ways that render "real time" data, and measure around schools, hospitals and other critical institutions. Ricardo Rivera Jaramillo, natural heritage director for the National Environmental Authority (ANAM), pointed out that Panama has created a national system of protected areas, including bird refuges, national parks, natural monuments and marine parks, in order to limit the spreading environmental destruction. Laws by the National Government

The Pollution Prevention Act established the national policy that pollution should be prevented or reduced at the source whenever feasible. Preventing pollution offers important economic benefits, as pollution never created avoids the need for expensive investments in waste management or cleanup. Executive Order 13514, "Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance." The order states: "It is therefore the policy of the United States that Federal agencies shall increase energy efficiency; measure, report, and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions from direct and indirect activities; conserve and protect water resources through efficiency, reuse, and stormwater management; eliminate waste, recycle, and prevent pollution; leverage agency acquisitions to foster markets for sustainable technologies and environmentally preferable materials, products, and services; design, construct, maintain, and operate high performance sustainable buildings in sustainable locations; strengthen the vitality and livability of the communities in which Federal facilities are located; and inform Federal employees about and involve them in the achievement of these goals."

4 RECOMMENDATION In large part, Panama's main environmental problems flow from the lack of an environmental dimension to economic and social planning and development. The environmental impacts on water resources [in general] caused by agricultural activities cannot be disassociated from the agricultural impacts in production areas themselves. They require monitoring, and preventive measures should always be systemically integrated. It is necessary to develop and implement water resource monitoring systems with a prior definition of indicators, parameters, tolerance limits, frequency and sampling points, combining this information with quantity data. Data and information generated should be properly treated in the sense of disseminating them as much as possible in order to heighten awareness and mobilization of the public sector and of society with respect to agriculture's impact on the environment. Attempts should be made to exchange information and to pursue horizontal cooperation among countries, in order to promote the exchange of information and experiences. In the prevention systems proposed, solutions to causes should be looked for, seeking to match the agricultural model to the socio-economic needs of the population within environmental limits and vocations. Besides treating water quality related problems, there is evidence of other problems generated by conflicts in use, particularly the need to integrate quality management with the quantity of water within a comprehensive, decentralized and participatory management system, reconciling regional development with environmental protection. Emission inventories must continue to be improved in both countries, with greater effort placed on developing real-world emission factors that can be related to available activity data for area and mobile sources. Emission certification tests, while necessary to evaluate new engine and industrial designs, do not well represent real-world emission factors. Real-world testing methods are proven technology and should be more widely applied in the United States and China. Fuel-based emission factors provide a common basis for combustion emissions, are more easily related to available activity data, and allow comparison among energy sectors. These can be more easily converted to other activity measures, and should be used in developing emissions inventories. Emission inventories need to be evaluated and verified by independent means, such as receptor modeling. Special events need to be included in inventories related to the time and location of occurrence. There has to be participation in emissions reductions by all sectors, not just by the major industries. Enforcement and monitoring, as well as incentives, are needed to assure that emission reductions are implemented and maintained.

5 Incremental improvements should be made where possible, even if the best emission reduction technology is unaffordable at the current time. Governments must improve policy incentives to adopt specific control technologies. Policies requiring the implementation of pollution controls are a positive first step, but these policies must be developed in tandem with appropriate incentives to overcome financial or other barriers.

Although there's time to reverse the damage, if we turn back on the the policies and programs designed to fight this pollution two things are going to happen, first, it will be more costly to reverse damage that has already been done. Second, it can get to the point where damage is irreversible, and entire ecosystems will be destroyed. There are human activities, land uses and production processes that are causing changes in biodiversity, directly or indirectly provoking the loss of habitats. Deforestation and erosion are visibly affecting ecosystems on the land, while pollution is the main cause of degradation of our aquatic and marine ecosystems and our wetlands. The environment is the result of humanity's intervention in its natural surroundings. We have to educate, to put our hopes on the successful creation of environmental consciousness among the citizenry, to the extent that we can save the best of our planet, its diverse biological wealth. If we conceive and implement norms based upon our common best interests, and do so across the board, without taking shortcuts, the errors that have been made in the environmental field can be corrected. On the other hand, the environmental deterioration amidst which we now live can very quickly make the country uninhabitable, from the viewpoints of health, natural resources and quality of life.

REFERENCES http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com http://www.mapsofworld.com http://www.epa.gov/p2/pubs/laws.htm

7 ANNEXES