Integrated water resources management: the case of the Panama Canal Basin

摘要

Panama, in the southern part of Central America, is a narrow land bridge connecting North America and South America. The Panama Canal basin (PCB) extends over the narrowest part of the isthmus, covering almost 334 000 ha. The manmade canal is the only waterway in the world draining into two oceans (Colley & Illueca, 2009). One of the world's richest biodiversity areas, the basin provides a variety of habitats for numerous biological resources, particularly forests and macroscopic fauna (CICH, 2007a). About 1.5 million people, almost half of the country's population, live immediately adjacent to the basin in the cities of Panama and Colon and in nearby areas, being directly dependent on the PCB for freshwater, hydroelectricity, flood control, etc.