Panama Prepares to Evacuate First Island in Face of Rising Sea Levels

Gardi Sugdub: On a tiny island off Panama’s Caribbean coast, about 300 families are packing ir belongings in preparation for a dramatic change. Generations of Gunas who have grown up on Gardi Sugdub in a life dedicated to sea and tourism will tre that next week for mainland’s solid ground. y go voluntarily — sort of.

Gunas of Gardi Sugdub are first of 63 communities along Panama’s Caribbean and Pacific coasts that government officials and scientists expect to be forced to relocate by rising sea levels in coming deces.

On a recent day, island’s Indigenous residents rowed or sputtered off with outboard motors to fish. Children, some in uniforms and ors in colorful local textiles called “molas,” chattered as y hustled through warren of narrow dirt streets on ir way to school.

“We’re a little s, because we’re going to leave behind homes we’ve known all our lives, relationship with sea, where we fish, where we ba and where tourists come, but sea is sinking island little by little,” said Nín Morales, 24, who prepared to move with her mor, uncle and boyfriend.

An official with Panama’s ministry of housing said that some people have decided to stay on island until it's no longer safe, without revealing a specific number. Authorities won’t force m to leave, official said on condition of anonymity to discuss issue.

Gardi Sugdub is one of about 50 populated islands in archipelago of Guna Yala territory. It is only about 400 yards (366 meters) long and 150 yards (137 meters) wide. From above, it’s roughly a prickly oval surrounded by dozens of short docks where residents tie up ir boats.

Every year, especially when strong winds whip up sea in November and December, water fills streets and enters homes. Climate change isn't only leing to a rise in sea levels, but it's also warming oceans and reby powering stronger storms.

Gunas have tried to reinforce island’s edge with rocks, pilings and coral, but seawater keeps coming.

“Lately, I’ve seen that climate change has h a major impact,” Morales said. “Now tide comes to a level it didn’t before, and heat is unbearable.”

Guna’s autonomous government decided two deces ago that y needed to think about leaving island, but at that time it was because island was getting too crowded. effects of climate change accelerated that thinking, said Evelio López, a 61-year-old teacher on island.

He plans to move with relatives to new site on mainland that government developed at a cost of $12 million. concrete houses sit on a grid of paved streets carved out of lush tropical jungle just over a mile (2 kilometres) from port, where an eight-minute boat ride carries m to Gardi Sugdub.

Leaving island is "a great challenge, because more than 200 years of our culture is from sea, so leaving this island means a lot of things,” López said. “Leaving sea, economic activities that we have re on island, and now we’re going to be on solid ground, in forest. We’re going to see what result is in long run.”

Steven Paton, director of Smithsonian Institution’s physical monitoring program in Panama, said that upcoming move “is a direct consequence of climate change through increase in sea level.”

“ islands on average are only a half-meter above sea level, and as that level rises, sooner or later Gunas are going to have to abandon all of islands almost surely by end of century or earlier.”

“All of world's coasts are being affected by this at different speeds,” Paton said.

Residents of a small coastal community in Mexico moved inland last year after storms continued to take away ir homes. Governments are being forced to take action, from Italian lagoon city of Venice to coastal communities of New Zealand.

A recent study by Panama’s Environmental Ministry’s Climate Change directorate, with support from universities in Panama and Spain, estimated that by 2050, Panama would lose about 2.01 per cent of its coastal territory to increases in sea levels.

Panama estimates that it will cost about $1.2 billion to relocate 38,000 or so inhabitants who will face rising sea levels in short and medium-term, said Ligia Castro, climate change director for Environmental Ministry.

On Gardi Sugdub, women who make elaborately embroidered molas worn by Guna women hang m outside ir homes when finished, trying to catch eye of visiting tourists.

island and ors along coast have benefitted for years from year-round tourism.

Braucilio de la Ossa, deputy secretary of Carti, port facing Gardi Sugdub, said that he planned to move with his wife, daughter, sister-in-law and mor-in-law. Some of his wife’s relatives will stay on island.

He said biggest challenge for those moving would be lifestyle change of moving from sea inland even though distance is relatively small.

“Now that y will be in forest ir way of living will be different,” he said.