Upper Chagres

Owl monkeys in Panama Canal Watershed. © Marie Reed

The Chagres Basin provides the 52 million gallons of water needed for each ship to pass through the Panama Canal. The Chagres watershed also provides fresh drinking water for both Panama City and Colon.

The Nature Conservancy's efforts in the Upper Chagres region focus on Chagres National Park. Chagres National Park is characterized by steep, upland tropical forest and is also home to communities of the Embera indigenous group and mestizo farmers.

Location
The Upper Chagres region encompasses approximately half a million acres, beginning just north of Panama City. Chagres National Park has an area of 318,000 acres.

Animals
This area is home to species such as the:

• Capybara
• Jaguar
• Mantled howler monkey
• Northern tamandua (anteater)

More than 560 bird species are found in the Alto Chagres region including:

• Harpy eagle (Panama's National Bird)
• Speckled antshrike 
• Russet-crowned quail-dove
• Blue-fronted parrotlet

Plants
This area contains the largest extension of tropical forest in the Canal Watershed. In a study published in 1999, 1,125 species of plants were identified, 200 of which were rare and 5 of which were described for the first time.

Why The Conservancy Works Here

• Four of the six main rivers that provide water for Panama Canal operations are found in this conservation area.  This is especially significant considering that some 38 ships pass through the 50 mile-long Canal every day, each one requiring 52 million gallons of fresh water to make the voyage. The Alto Chagres watershed also supplies water to Panama's two largest cities, Panama City and Colon. Deforestation of the Alto Chagres region is a significant concern, which could have far-reaching consequences for Panama Canal operations.
  
  
• Given its close proximity to the country's two largest cities, Alto Chagres faces considerable threats from urban and industrial development. Additionally, expanding agriculture, the poultry industry, and cattle ranching pose significant threats. On the Caribbean slope, the jaguar population faces hunting by local cattle ranchers.
  
  
• A tract of forest called the Santa Rita Ridge, known for its high level of endemic species, remains unprotected and critically threatened by urban development and plantations of non-native species.

What The Conservancy Is Doing

The Conservancy provided $1,16 Million towards a debt-for-nature swap that will provide $10 Million in long term conservation in the Chagres watershed area. A trust fund will provide financial sustainability over the next 14 years funding development projects in Chagres National Park and reducing the threats that face the park.

The Nature Conservancy and Panamanian partners created the $25 million Ecological Trust Fund of Panama (FIDECO). Income from the fund is used to finance the activities of the Panama Park Service (focusing primarily in the Panama Canal Watershed area) and to provide small grants to non-governmental conservation groups.

This area is also a Parks in Peril site for the Conservancy.

The Conservancy is working with local partners to:

• Conserve private lands and implement conservation easements.
  
• Consolidate park management (emphasizing financial mechanisms for sustainability - ecotourism, endowments, co-management agreements, monitoring).
  
• Extend park boundaries to include the Santa Rita Ridge, an important haven of biodiversity that is not yet  legally protected.