Darien National Park Progress Report 2023-2024
Introduction to Darien National Park
Darien National Park is one of the most important World Heritage Sites in Central America.
At over half a million hectares and growing, Darien is the largest national park in Panama and sits on the border adjacent to Colombia’s Los Katios National Park. This area is known as the Darien Gap, the only break in the Pan-American Highway that would otherwise run continuously through fourteen countries from Alaska to Argentina.
The jungles of Darien seem endless, containing a dichotomy of brilliant flora and fauna with cartel members and human trafficking. Photo ©Joshua Asel
With stunning coastal habitats flanked by mangroves that give way to primary tropical forests and swamps, this is one of the most isolated and biodiverse places on Earth. Darien was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1981, and in 1983 it was recognized as a Biosphere Reserve by the UNESCO Man and Biosphere program.
Rangers in Darien National Park, supported by Global Conservation with gear and vehicles, fight against fires and deforestation. Many of the rangers themselves are part of the Embera Wounan tribe, who are local to the Darien jungle. Photo ©Joshua Asel
Darien is home to many established human settlements within and around the park, including indigenous communities that have flourished here since long before the park had protected status. These indigenous tribes in the park make the conservation of the forest and its wildlife a life-or-death issue for both animals and humans. These ancient cultures will disappear if the forests do.
Fewer than 450 harpy eagles are likely to remain in Panama. Harpy eagles are enormous birds of prey, tied for the title of world's largest eagle. They are found in rainforest habitats throughout much of South and Central America and are threatened primarily by deforestation.
Species Facing Extinction
Darien has many rare and endangered species on the IUCN Red List. Jaguars are killed to protect livestock, and other endangered species include ocelots, American crocodiles, capybaras, and a number of primates. Sadly, all these species are being poached inside and outside the park.
But the illegal hunting of wildlife is not the biggest threat to the wildlife of Darien. Gold mining with illegal and destructive gas-powered water pumps pollutes the waters and destroys riverbeds, while deforestation is pushing many species towards extinction. These tropical forests are being destroyed at alarming rates. The harvesting of lumber is both done illegally and by those with permits granted by local authorities. Illegal cattle ranchers burn down what is left of the forest.
We are collaborating with our partners to safeguard the harpy eagle in Darien National Park.
The population of harpy eagles in Panama is likely to be less than 450. Harpy eagles are enormous birds of prey, sharing the title of the world's largest eagle. They are found in rainforest habitats throughout much of South and Central America and are threatened primarily by deforestation.
Global Conservation is funding a multi-year species population baseline study for harpy eagles to ascertain progress in park and wildlife protection from our investments in Global Park Defense in Darien National Park.
Rangers make their way through the Darien jungle to get to their station in Darien National Park. Photo ©Joshua Asel
Working to Protect Darien
Global Conservation launched Global Park Defense in 2021 to combat illegal activities within Darien National Park and protect its inhabitants and surrounding communities. After completing a threats and needs assessment, Global Conservation deployed park-wide satellite communications, trained ranger teams on SMART patrolling software, and provided equipment to enhance patrolling. Global Conservation brought in trainers and master rangers from Costa Rica, Guatemala, and our partner, the Wildlife Protection Agency. Local authorities and members of the community joined our team in support of our work to improve park protection.
The migration through the Darien Gap includes some checkpoints, which provide some conveniences. However, problems while crossing the gap, like the rise in women being sexually abused, are drastically rising.
Photo ©Joshua Asel
Threats Affecting Darién Include:
Illegal mining and land clearing
Unauthorized settlements
Fishing/collecting of aquatic resources
Lack of management systems/management plan
Armed conflict and security concerns
Illegal activities, including extraction of timber and wildlife
Overfishing in the lowland freshwater systems
Threats from major infrastructure projects and major linear utilities (electric transmission corridors, ports).
While there is forest loss near the property, the interior of the park remains intact, according to recent scientific analysis. The main challenge noted is the need to “improve management schemes associated with prevention, surveillance, and control, as well as the strategies of spatial management,” according to the IUCN.
The densely populated forest in the Darién Region, located on the border between Colombia and Panama, is more congested daily with tens of thousands of migrants from Latin America and as distant as Afghanistan and Nepal, seeking to traverse it. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Panamanian government report that a record 250,000 migrants and refugees traversed Panama in 2022, nearly double the 133,000 who crossed in 2021, having undertaken the hazardous route via the Darién Gap jungle. Individuals undertaking the voyage have escaped conflict or destitution and are fervently seeking to arrive in North America. Fatigued and burdened with their scant possessions, they confront a perilous expedition toward optimism. Photos ©Federico Rios Escobar
Mainly only known by Panamanians and sparsely promoted by worldwide news outlets, there is a new and devastating extension of the Pan-American Highway. Shown here in aerial shots of the decimation itself, this extension cuts through miles of pristine wilderness.This expansion will create more opportunities for deforestation, wildlife poaching, and the funneling of drugs and human trafficking by the Colombian cartel. Video ©Joshua Asel
The Pan-American Highway
The Pan-American Highway has long loomed over the Darién region as a potential ecological disaster. The Darién “Gap” is so named because it is a 96-km gap in this highway, and the completion of this section has been shelved several times due to environmental concerns. However, going against popular opinion, the government has started to expand the Pan American Highway deep into pristine jungle habitat.
Embera-Wounan Rangers practice using SMART technology to geo-locate
Saving Darien National Park
With Global Park Defense, the park authority and ranger teams will have increased capacity and improved effectiveness to greatly improve park and wildlife protection, law enforcement, and biodiversity monitoring. Our goal is to achieve "No Cut, No Kill" protection for the national park within 5-6 years.
Within the Darien National Park there are communities that practice subsistence agriculture, often setting fires in the summer to clear land for planting rice and corn. These fires are sometimes not controlled properly and spread to nearby forests and grasslands. In 2024, these fires were dealt with in time and prevented from spreading within the park.
Key Achievements
Kilometers patrolled: 1,872 km - 975 kilometers by boat, 410 kilometers by foot, 487 from other
900+ Hours of Patrols
30 forest fires battled and controlled
4 legal proceedings were filed with the environmental prosecutor's office, two of which were for illegal mining and two for logging within the park
An illegally placed house and agricultural crops were destroyed
An old historic gold mine was recovered, which was invaded by illegal miners, and is now an operational center protected by 10 border police and park rangers
Support was provided for the review process of trails in critical areas within the park boundaries
Attention was given to requests for subsistence permits in the communities, and attention and support were provided to research projects developed within the park
Fire control training takes place at the ranger station in Darien National Park.
Fire Control Training: In February of 2022, Darien rangers were trained by the Ministry of the Environment and firefighters in both fighting forest fires and conducting prescribed burns for fire prevention and forestry management. Rangers were fully outfitted with necessary fire control gear, as well as first-aid supplies and training from the Panamanian Red Cross.
Increased Patrolling: 250 aquatic patrols and 398 terrestrial patrols were conducted in 2021. SMART software was fully deployed in January of 2022 and has been supplemented with ArcGIS mapping software this year, which will provide detailed data on total patrol miles, routes, and field activities for 2022-2023.
Drones enable the rangers to patrol faster and survey wildlife populations.
International Cooperation
Global Conservation has also signed agreements with Colombia Parks Authorities to further assess the deployment of Global Park Defense in Darien’s neighboring park, Los Katios National Park of Colombia. Many of the illegally traded goods stolen from Darien cross the border into Colombia and beyond, and vice versa. Global Conservation will continue to assess the viability of cooperation between the two parks of the Darien Gap to strengthen monitoring of illicit activities, synchronize patrolling, and bolster response capabilities.
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