IAI/UM Summer Institute 2001 - Panama Canal Watershed mini-project

Back to Miniprojects Home Page |

Back to Institute 2001 Home Page |

Back to Home Page |

Summer Institute 2001 Research Mini-Project 2
The integrated management of the Panamá Canal watershed:
Challenges and emerging issues

Coordinators: Ing. Carlos Vargas and Dr. Guillermo Castro Herrera

Project Description

Coordinators Biographic Profiles

Project Participants

Background Information

Mini-project overview
[PDF File, 505 Kb]
Additional background information
[PDF File, 1.2 Mb]

Project Results
[PDF File, 1.9 Mb]

Follow-up activities

Project Description

The mini-project on the Panama Canal Watershed (PCW) will simulate a consulting process. Participants in this mini-project will be asked to form multidisciplinary consulting groups of three to four persons, in order to produce a set of recommendations for the integrated management of the PCW. The facilitators will act also as “the client”: a consortium conformed by the Panama Canal Authority (PCA), representing the country’s government, and a hypothetical NGO representing people, bussines and social movements related to the PCW.

The “consultants” will receive and discuss basic information (technical, sociopolitical and other), including interview sessions with the “clients”, as well as orientation about relevant sources of information on the issue. These sources will be the same currently under use by all parties involved in this kind of debate in Panama.

The information provided will allow participants to do the necessary research to produce and present two progress reports and one final report to their “clients”. The final reports of the “consultants” will be presented by the “clients” to the Interinstitutional Comission for the Canal Watershed, a PCA office in charge of coordinating the PCW management with other government and non-government organizations in Panama, as a contribution to the ongoing debate on the PCW management.

The general process will be organized as follows:

a) Sessions 1, 2, 4, 5, 7 and 8 will be used for brief lectures offered by Carlos Vargas (hydrologist) and Guillermo Castro (social scientist), which will provide first hand information on the current situation and problems, historical evolution, main restrictions and alternativesand research resources for the elaboration of proposals for the PCW’s integrated management. The lectures will be followed by the discussion of the problems addressed in the lecture, particularly their significance for the general task the participants will be addressing. Due to the short time available, participants are strongly encouraged to consult in advance the bibliography and sources mentioned in the program.

b) The consulting teams will have to do their own research, question the “clients” in separate interviews, and make use of the information sources provided. Contributions from different sources and experiences will be encouraged.

c) Sessions 3, 6 and 9 will be used for seminars that will allow the research teams to discuss their progress on the elaboration of recommendations for the integrated management of the PCW. Each team will have a 20-minute presentation, followed by a discussion by the entire group. The first two progress reports will not exceed five pages, and the final report will not exceed ten pages.

Program of Activities

Session	Contents	Activity
0	Overview of the project, introduction of coordinators, discussion of the program of activities and the general bibliography.	Presentations by Carlos Vargas and Guillermo Castro
1	Presentation and discussion of the problem at stake: Challenges and emerging issues for the integrated management of the Panama Canal Watershed (PCW).	PCW: its importance for Panama and world commerce. Lecture by Carlos Vargas. Discussion of relevant problems, methods and sources of information. Discussion of the "client's" specific technical demands.
1		Watershed management as conflict management: the case of the PCW. Lecture by Guillermo Castro. Discussion of relevant problems, methods , sources of information and the “client’s” specific sociopolitical demands.
2	The structure of the problem - 1: A general description of PCW’s natural characteristics, and of the technology being used in its management today.	The quantitative dimension: natural and technological factors. Lecture by Carlos Vargas. Discussion of relevant problems, methods and sources of information, and specific relevance of these factors for the “client”.
	The structure of the problem - 2: A general description of the PCW’s current population, social structure and political organzation.	The qualitative dimension: socio-demographic, political and institutional factors. Lecture by Guillermo Castro. Discussion of relevant problems, methods and sources of information, and specific relevance of these factors for the “client”.
		First round of interviews of “clients” by each of the “consulting groups”.
3	Presentation and discussion of the first progress report: statement of the problem, hypothesis, discussion of bibliography and sources, working plan.	Seminar 1. First progress report to "clients”. Presentations and general discussion, with Carlos Vargas and Guillermo Castro as facilitators.
4	The construction of the problem - 1: A historical approach to the trends leading to the current situation in water producing capacity and water demand in the PCW.	The quantitative dimension: the PCW – technology – demand interaction, 1914 - 2000. Lecture by Carlos Vargas. Discussion of relevant problems, methods and sources of information. Criteria for the evaluation of technical relevance of lessons learned by ACP along the process.
5	The formation of the problem - 2: A historical approach to the trends leading to the current cultural and sociopolitical problems to be faced by PCW’s management.	The qualitative dimension: the PCW – country interaction, 1904 - 2000. Lecture by Guillermo Castro. Discussion of relevant problems, methods and sources of information. Criteria for the evaluation of the political relevance of lessons learned by Panama´s society along the process.
5		Second round of interviews of “clients” by each of the “consulting groups”.
6	Presentation and discussion of the second progress report: validation of hypotheses, discussion of bibliography and sources, identification of new problems and additional information needs.	Seminar 2. Second progress report to "clients”. Presentations and general discussion, with Carlos Vargas and Guillermo Castro as facilitators.
7	Restrictions and possibilities for PCW’s management - 1: A general consideration of the restrictions and possibilities for the proposal of alternatives to solve the problem, from the perspective of the natural sciences.	The formal dimension: technological and institutional restrictions and alternatives. Lecture by Carlos Vargas. Discussion of relevant problems, methods and sources of information. Criteria for the technical evaluation of restrictions and alternatives.
7		Third round of interviews of “clients” by each of the “consulting groups”.
8	Restrictions and considerations for PCW’s management - 2: A general consideration of the restrictions and possibilities for the proposal of alternatives to solve the problem, from the perspective of the social sciences.	The historical and social dimension: socio-cultural, political and legal restrictions and alternatives. Lecture by Guillermo Castro. Discussion of relevant problems, methods and sources of information. Criteria for the political evaluation of restrictions and alternatives.
8		Fourth round of interviews of “clients” by each of the “consulting groups”.
9	Presentation and discussion of the miniproject results.	Consulting teams' presentation of final reports to "clients." General discussion with Institute participants, with Carlos Vargas and Guillermo Castro as facilitators.

Bibliography

Session	Contents
0	Program of activities and general bibliography.
1	Vargas, C.A., 1999: “The Extended Report on the Results of the Third Inter – American Dialogue on Water Management. Applied to the Panama Canal Watershed”. Dourojeanny, Axel, 1994: “La gestión del agua y las cuencas en América Latina”. World Resources Institute: “What is an ecosystem approach?”. Herrera, Ligia, 1970: “Panamá: panorama geográfico – ecológico”.
1
2	Organización de Estados Americanos (OEA), 1998: Gestión Integrada de Recursos Hídricos en Mesoamérica.
2	Heckadon, Stanley; Ibáñez, Roberto and Condit, Richard (editors), 1999: La Cuenca del Canal: deforestación, urbanización y contaminación.
3	Progress report
4	Vargas, C. A., 1996 : “La Administración de los Recursos Hídricos: Pieza Fundamental para el Funcionamiento del Canal”.
5	Castro, Guillermo: “On cattle and ships. Culture, history and sustainable development in Panama”. Panama Canal Authority: “Read our history”.
6	Second progress report
7	Atencio T., 1992: "Impact of Municipal Water Demands on Canal Water Availability". Probst S., 1992: Panama Canal Commission Flood Control Manual. Vargas, C. A., 1992: "Panamá Canal Watershed Runoff Trend Analysis. Vargas, C. A.,- 1991: "On the Design of a New Spillway for Gatun Lake”.
8	Panama Canal Authority: “Organic Law”; “Constitutional Title”; “Regulation on the Environment, Watershed, and Interinstitutional Comission on the Canal Watershed”. Zárate, Manuel: “El agua y el desarrollo en Panamá”.
9	Final presentation