The incoming new president of Panama has put water levels at the country’s canal as one of his most important items on his agenda.
Jose Raul Mulino won last Sunday’s elections and will take office for a five-year term from July.
Interviewed by Reuters, Mulino said he would try and get lawmakers to approve a law enabling the Panama Canal to build large water reservoirs to combat droughts which have severely restricted traffic on the interoceanic waterway over the past 12 months.
The law, which would grant the waterway permission to operate on land needed for the reservoirs, would be the first approved under his administration, Mulino said.
The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) aims to increase daily slots to 32 vessels next month, stating that full operations will only resume next year after the worst drought in recorded history has hurt business badly at the waterway. Total transits in April were up 6% month-on-month, further evidence that the worst of the drought restrictions have passed.
“This recent drought at the canal not only highlights the vulnerability of our water systems but also underscores the urgent need for innovative and collaborative solutions. To tackle water scarcity challenges effectively, we’ve learned that we must adopt a multifaceted approach that encompasses technology, policy reforms, and community engagement,” commented Ilya Espino de Marotta, deputy administrator and chief sustainability officer at the ACP.
“Innovative engineering solutions are pivotal in mitigating the impacts of climate change on water resources. Technological advancements, from cloud seeding to smart irrigation systems, offer promising avenues for conserving and managing water more efficiently,” she added, going on to advise the incoming Mulino administration to prioritise investments in water infrastructure and enact legislation that promotes water conservation and equitable distribution.