Is there any way to enhance the existing panama canal so as to prevent any further destruction of natural resources? And if not how many miles of forest will be compromised due to the new construction?
There is no practical way to enlarge the existing canal. The destruction of natural resources will be minimal, all things considered, since the canal is only about 60 miles long, and much of the area around it has already been pretty well poluted (i.e., with unexploded bombs from an abandoned US military firing range). Watershed will be lost, and that is going to be the biggest problem Panama will face in the coming years. The other issue is that this is pretty much a political issue, and there aren't that many opportunities in Panama for mega-projects to draw the big bucks. Maybe the project will divert some of the effort going in to the building boom that is destroying far more of the environment than the canal upgrade will...
I have been living in Panama for better than 12 years, and am opposed to the canal upgrade, but for economic reasons, not environmental. Unfortunately, those who might agree with me are in a minority.
The additional damage to the ecology will be minimal compared to the damage legally caused in the rest of the world.
The financial-economic viability and sustainability is of greater concern.
The economy may have already adapted sufficiently to the current situation by building bigger vessels that will in any case exceed the capacity of the 'bigger' canal..
Politics is also a big concern, Not so long ago some of the other canals were of bounds.
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Panama II Project
Re: Panama II Project
