Author: Sebastian Pieper

At Isla Contadora, boat engines were audible in 42.6% of all monitored hours during a year-long acoustic study. This single figure helps explain why scientists in Panama now regard marine noise pollution as a growing threat to humpback whales and other cetaceans. Seven underwater microphones deployed across the Pacific coast captured more than 30,000 audio files, and the first processed results point to a clear pattern. When vessel noise increased, the probability of recording whale songs dropped by 40% to 45%. That decline suggests engine sounds can directly interfere with whale communication. Acoustic Monitoring Network Spans Seven Coastal Sites Between…

Panama Vieja dressed itself in drums, folkloric dresses, and acrobatics this Saturday as residents gathered for the Panama City anniversary, honoring 507 years since the city’s founding. The procession began at 9:00 a.m. at the Morelos statue on Vía Cincuentenario and moved through the historic sector to Puente del Rey. Panama City Anniversary Parade Brings Student Energy to Historic Streets More than 45 student delegations marched alongside 11 independent bands and one international band, filling the route with music, choreography, and synchronized movement. Organizers also included gymnastic exhibitions so students could display physical skills, while animated characters entertained children along…

Around 3,000 people pass through the Miraflores Locks visitor center on a typical day, according to tourism figures. But on August 15, 2026, that steady flow of visitors carries an extra layer of significance. Panama is marking the 112th Panama Canal anniversary, a date that turns the observation decks into a living classroom where the past and the present of global shipping meet. Inside the Daily Operation of the Miraflores Locks From the viewing platform, visitors watch a precise sequence unfold. Gates swing open and closed, water levels rise and fall, and large vessels creep through the chambers. The slow…

The pursuit ended just outside the José Domingo de Obaldía Regional Hospital in David on Friday, August 14, capping a ride-hailing robbery that began minutes earlier in the Los Abanicos sector. Five people, including one minor, were arrested after police said they attacked an inDrive driver near Querévalo and took his vehicle. Officers from the Linces Motorized Service closed in on the stolen car as it entered the hospital area, bringing the incident to an end around 6:00 p.m. The case highlights the dangers that drivers of app-based transport services continue to face in western Panama. Ride-Hailing Robbery Details Emerge…

Panama’s Ministry of Environment resolved 943 environmental impact assessments in 2025, approving 717 projects tied to more than B/.5.42 billion in investment. Those decisions are now visible through a digital environmental platform that gives the public direct access to project files, compliance details and approval status. The shift marks a significant break from the paper-driven processes that once kept environmental oversight largely out of public view. How the digital environmental platform works For studies submitted on or after October 1, 2025, the ministry routes applications through e-SEVIA, an online evaluation system covering categories I, II and III projects. This digital…

Panama City has replaced its outdated vehicle removal rules with a faster, tougher system for clearing abandoned cars and other debris from public streets. An agreement published Thursday in the official gazette gives municipal enforcement officers the power to tag, document, and eventually seize vehicles that sit for months or years blocking sidewalks and roadways. The new measure, known as Agreement No. 220, updates regulations that had been in place since 2016. But officials say the problem has become impossible to ignore. Across the district, rusted and dusty cars have turned into semi-permanent fixtures in some neighborhoods, narrowing pedestrian routes…

Panama has overhauled its prison contraband control system after the June 1 mass escape from La Joyita, forcing families to deliver packages just once a month through a single, heavily monitored facility. The Ministry of Government announced the change on August 14 through Resolution No. 122-R-119, which covers six prisons and aims to close the security holes that allowed weapons, drugs and other prohibited items to enter detention centers. Under the policy, relatives must bring items to the former Doña Cecilia Orillac de Chiari women’s rehabilitation center on Avenida Domingo Díaz in Panama City. The site will accept packages from…

Panama mass burials have become a visible sign of the pressure on the country’s forensic system. The Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences (Imelcf) carried out 142 inhumations between January and June 2026, according to director Abdiel Abel Rentería Ramos. Those burials included 64 sets of skeletal remains, 42 adult cadavers, 32 human products or fetuses, and four foreign nationals. These are not clandestine graves. They are state-led burials meant to relieve overcrowded judicial morgues and manage bodies that no one has claimed or identified. Rentería Ramos presented the figure while summarizing his first six months in office. Panama…

Every August 14, Panama turns its attention to a tiny amphibian with bright yellow skin. The Panama golden frog, known scientifically as Atelopus zeteki, has become both a national emblem and a stark reminder of biodiversity loss. Ministry of Environment officials say habitat loss, disease, and climate change are the main pressures pushing this endemic species toward extinction. Hoy celebramos el Día Nacional de la Rana Dorada, una especie que representa la extraordinaria biodiversidad de Panamá. Es un símbolo nacional que enfrenta grandes desafíos para su supervivencia, como la pérdida de hábitat y enfermedades que han reducido sus poblaciones en…

In the Coclé province town of Natá de los Caballeros, a colonial church that has remained active for worship for nearly five centuries will undergo a comprehensive technical evaluation. The initiative forms part of a wider historic church preservation effort led by Panama’s Ministry of Culture, known as MiCultura, to protect and enhance one of the oldest sacred buildings in the Americas. Representatives from the religious community, civil society, local government, and heritage protection groups recently gathered to discuss future intervention needs. Officials described the meeting as a first step toward defining concrete conservation actions for the Basílica Menor de…