In alert are the environmentalists for damage to beaches
PRESS / File
The situation is worsened by the urban growth that has taken the country.
03/08/2013 - PANAMA, (ACAN-EFE). - The amount of waste that can be seen on the beaches of Panama are of concern to environmentalists who have warned of harmful effects on the ecosystem that could become irreversible .
A representative of the National Association for the Conservation of Nature, Jenny Echeverría, told Efe that the garbage problem "very seriously" because the waste arriving sea eventually become "death traps" for hundreds of species and coral reefs.
"Hundreds of species, ingesting debris, die intoxicated, while fragile coral reefs are disappearing," said Echeverria.
The situation is worsened by the urban growth that has taken the Central American country, a leader in the region with economic expansion of 10.6% in 2012, and it is especially noticeable in the capital, which has affected the rich mangrove ecosystem has the bay, said environmentalist.
Mangroves, said Echeverria, play a key role in protecting coastlines from erosion by wind and waves, as well as housing a large number of aquatic and terrestrial amphibians.
"They are the juvenile stages habitat of hundreds of species of fish, molluscs and crustaceans and therefore play a key role in coastal fisheries and the continental shelf. They are temporary habitat for many species of migratory birds north and south, "he said.
The environmentalist said that mangrove forests are very susceptible to the accumulation of sediments, which can practically drown, disruption of the flow and ebb of the waters to the oil spill, which can cover the roots preventing oxygen intake, and drastic changes in salinity, because they do not tolerate a concentration greater than 90%.
For his part, the director of the Panama Audubon Society environmentalist, Rosabel Miró, told Efe that currently unknown statistics do much damage to marine debris, but there are regions where the mortally affected and in others the have decreased considerably.
Miró pointed to the situation being experienced Laysan albatrosses on Midway Atoll coast, found in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch north, where their young feed mainly plastic waste, which has decreased this population of birds.
He noted that in Panama a need to address in a comprehensive manner and that any government institution should take the initiative to propose strategies and programs to reduce the problem.
In that vein, Echeverria said must also joining in the solution which "consume, those distributing and producing containers" that later become waste, because "the responsibility of all."
Meanwhile, Zenaida Castillo, of the Aquatic Resources Authority of Panama, told Efe that the entity responsible for the Panamanian coastal sector performs year round activities that promote clean beaches, involving not only state institutions such as the Ministry of Education, but also the communities themselves.
De Castillo said that the programs are talks in which stands out not only cleaning the beaches, but also the importance of mangroves, conservation, its benefits, and the preservation of species.
Since 1992 takes place in September each year cleaning up some 50 beaches, coasts and rivers nationwide, led by environmental groups and supported by government institutions.
In 2012 were collected between 60-70 tons of trash, most waste cans, plastic, cardboard, paper, tires, tubes, ropes, toys, plastic pools, boats nets, shoes, slippers and all kinds of clothes.
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