Globalization and the Pan-American Highway: Converns for the Panama-Columbia Border Region of Darién-Chocó and its Peoples

University of Miami Law School Institutional Repository University of Miami Inter-American Law Review 4-1-2007 Globalization and the Pan-American Highway: Converns for the Panama-Columbia Border Region of Darién-Chocó and its Peoples Daniel Suman Follow this and additional works at: http://repository.law.miami.edu/umialr Part of the Comparative and Foreign Law Commons, and the International Law Commons Recommended Citation Daniel Suman, Globalization and the Pan-American Highway: Converns for the Panama-Columbia Border Region of Darién-Chocó and its Peoples, 38 U. Miami Inter-Am. L. Rev. 549 (2007) Available at: http://repository.law.miami.edu/umialr/vol38/iss3/3 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Institutional Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Miami InterAmerican Law Review by an authorized administrator of Institutional Repository. For more information, please contact . 549 Globalization and the Pan-American Highway: Concerns for the PanamaColombia Border Region of DarienChoc6 and its Peoples Daniel Suman* I. II. INTRODUCTION ....................................... BORDER REGION ..................................... 552 A. B. C. D. 552 554 557 Natural Features .............. .......... Political-Administrative.......................... E cology .......................................... People - Social Situation and Cultural Diversity ......................................... 1. Emberd and Wounaan Indigenous Peoples... 2. Afro-Colombian and Afro-Darien Peoples .... 3. Mestizo Colonists ........... ......... E. Threats and Concerns in the Region ............. 1. Colonization ................................. 2. Timber Extraction ........................... 3. M ega-Projects ................................ 4. Political Violence ............................ 5. Extension of the Latifundios ................. III. * 550 CHARACTERIZATION OF THE PANAMA-COLOMBIA 558 559 561 562 562 563 564 565 566 570 HISTORY OF THE PAN-AMERICAN HIGHWAY AND THE ROAD CONSTRUCTION ................................. 572 A. 1950 Proposals .................................. B. Legal Challenge by Environmental Groups in the United States .................................... C. Continued Construction after the NEPA Challenge ........................................ D. Renewed Interest from the Colombian Government in Construction of the Highway ..... E. 1996 - Colombian Environmental Consultancy .. F. PresidentAlvaro Uribe's UnilateralEfforts to Advance the Highway Project .................... G. Evolution of the PreferredAlternative within Colombian Agencies: Shift in Pan-American 573 574 576 577 578 580 Professor, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami. J.D. 1991, University of California, Berkeley; Ph.D. 1983, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California at San Diego. 550 INTER-AMERICAN LAW REVIEW [Vol. 38:3 Highway Alternatives to the "DarignColombiano" CoastalRoute - "Unguia & Acandi". ............ 586 H. PanamanianReaction to the Colombian Initiatives ........................................ 588 IV. CONCERNS ABOUT THE PAN-AMERICAN HIGHWAY ...... 592 A. Human and Animal Health Concerns............ 592 1. Foot and Mouth Disease - Fiebre Aftosa ..... 592 2. Cattle Screw Worm - Gusano Barrenador ... 593 3. Human Diseases ............................. 594 B. Environmental Concerns ......................... 594 1. Uncontrolled Colonization and Deforestation. 594 2. Atrato W etlands ............. ............... 596 3. Impacts on National Parks and Protected A reas ........................................ 597 4. Trafficking in Protected Wildlife ............. 597 C. Political Concerns ............................... 598 1. Colombian Political Violence ................. 598 2. National Security Issues for Panama ........ 598 3. Refugees and Displaced People .............. 600 4. Integration of Choc6 into Colombia and Darien into Panama ......................... 601 5. Bilateral Relations between Panama and Colom bia ..................................... 601 D. Social Impacts ................................... 603 1. Impacts on Afro Communities and Indigenous Peoples ...................................... 603 2. Illegal Immigration of Colombians into Panama (Human Smuggling) ................ 605 3. Drug Smuggling into Panama ............... 605 4. Arms Smuggling from Panama to Colombia . 606 5. Demobilized "Paras" .... .................... 606 E. Economic Impacts ............................... 607 608 612 V. RECOMMENDATIONS .................................. VI. CONCLUSIONS ........................................ I. INTRODUCTION The Darien - Choc6 Region is a privileged but abandoned region - privileged because it enjoys rich biological and cultural diversities. As one of the most species-rich regions on earth, the region truly deserves its natural world heritage classification.' It 1. See United Nations Environment Programme [UNEP], Protected Areas 2007] CONCERNS FOR THE DARIt N GAP 551 is a biological, political, and economic crossroads that connects North and South America and the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The region suffers, however, from a number of unfortunate realities. It is isolated from centers of power in Colombia and Panama, and government services and transportation infrastructure are clearly deficient. Active colonization and deforestation fronts eat at the tropical forest ecosystem on both sides of the border along existing roads.2 The region's communities display high levels of poverty and unsatisfied basic human needs. The area is rife with conflicts over land, power, and geopolitics. The Colombian portion of the region has been the scene of extreme political violence for more than twenty years that has caused a grave humanitarian crisis for indigenous and Afro-Colombian populations.' Today, once again, strong initiatives are afoot to construct a highway through the region. Termination of this segment of the Pan-American Highway remains a major symbol for hemispheric integration and emerging forces of globalization in Colombia and Panama. While the Pan-American Highway today ends at Yaviza (Panama) and Lomas Aisladas (Colombia), the debate continues to focus on the Dari6n Gap (referred to in Spanish as the Tap6n de Darign - the Dari6n Bottleneck) and the possibility of connecting the two nations' highway systems. The 108 km stretch of tropical rainforest in Darien Province (58 km in Panama) and Choc6 Department (50 km in Colombia) remains the only unfinished link in the 25,800 km Pan-American Highway System from Alaska to Patagonia. Ironically, although Panama was a "department" of Colombia for almost a century until its independence in 1903, today these two nations are probably the only neighboring countries in the world without a road connection. Seldom does road construction present such glaring and contrasting realities. Globali (...truncated)