Indigenous land submerged by illegal closure of dam
On Tuesday 24th of May the locks of the Barro Blanco dam in the Tabasará river in Panama, which is partly financed by the Dutch development bank FMO, were closed. This is in complete discord with the previous agreements between the Panamanian government and the leadership of the indigenous communities. Last august these parties had agreed that the reservoir of the dam would not be filled until a new agreement had been reached which includes all affected parties. According to the Panamanian government and the company Genisa the present filling of the dam is only a test. But this ‘test’ means that the water will rise 26 meters above the predicted future level of water.
Filling the 103 meter high reservoir will mean the submergence of the lands of the Ngäbe-Buglé people without their consent and some of them will soon need to be evacuated.
Project halted
For years the indigenous movement ‘Moviemiento 10 de Abril’ (M-10), who represent part of the affected communities, have resisted the building of the dam. The reservoir would submerge some of their houses, schools and religiously and archeologically significant places, as well as turning the Tabasará river into a placid lake. In early 2015 their long protest seemed to have finally bore fruit when the Panamanian environmental agency decided that the works on the dam should be halted after they had to conclude that the construction did not measure up against minimal environmental and social norms.
No warning
However, the Panamanian authorities lifted the suspension after the company was fined $775.000 and the construction was completed. The filling of the reservoir is now argued to be the final stage of the construction work under the disguise of a ‘test’. According to Both ENDS and a number of other international environmental organisation this is completely illegal. “Nobody has been properly informed let alone been consulted or even warned about the testing of the dam. Even the Panamanian Minister of Internal Affairs Milton Henriquez now admits as much,” says Eva Schmitz, who is working on the case at Both ENDS. “Via the M-10 we’re getting news of people who are locally protesting these decisions who are being intimidated and were even held for a while by local authorities”. Also the leader of the indigenous peoples who was representing the Ngäbe-Buglé at the dialog table with the government has announced that this goes against all the previous agreements.
Harm already done
The Dutch development bank FMO has invested 25 million dollars into the project and is as such partly responsible for the illegal activities which are taking place now. From a statement on the banks website it appears that the bank has full confidence that everything is being done according to the rules and that there is no reason to panic.
The bank affirms that the reservoir will indeed be tested between the 24th of May and the 3rdof August by fully filling it with water. But, as the bank assures, "the hydropower project will not start operations before an agreement is reached with the local communities, in the so-called 'dialogue table'." An incomprehensible reasoning given the fact that the land and some of the houses of the local people will most likely be submerged by now.
FMO needs to make demands
Cacica Silvia Carrera, who represents the Ngäbe-Buglé General Congress and was part of the original dialogue table, clearly distances herself from the recent developments and states that neither was she informed about what was happening nor does she agree to the filling of the reservoir. It’s not the first time that the FMO is involved in possible abuse of the human rights of indigenous people in Central America. Just last month the bank started to pull back from the highly controversial Augua Zarca project after the murder of the human rights defender Berta Caceres.
In order to prevent the situation in Panama escalating any further the FMO should take up their role as responsible investor by demanding the dam to be immediately opened again and that all the works around the dam to be halted until there is a new agreement between all the affected parties. The bank would also be well advised to, just like they did in Honduras after the murder on Berta Caceres, send a team of independent observers to the location to ascertain the situation in the around.
Cacica Silvia Carrera on Panamanian radio
Both ENDS and Barro Blanco 2010-2016
Read more about this subject
-
Dossier /Indigenous communities threatened by Barro Blanco dam in Panama
The Barro Blanco dam project in Panama, which has Dutch financial support, is causing indigenous lands to disappear under water. Both ENDS is working to protect the rights of indigenous communities living near the dam.
-
Blog / 1 december 2025The Long Road to Justice for the Ngäbe of Kiad
In October 2025 I travelled to Kiad, the Indigenous Ngäbe community that led the struggle against the FMO-financed Barro Blanco dam, for one last time. I went there to say my goodbyes, both personally and on behalf of Both ENDS, and to catch a first glimpse on how a community program financed by FMO and DEG – the result of a dialogue process that took several years – is giving a new impulse to the dam-affected communities. But how did we get here?
-
News / 27 oktober 2025New Step in FMO’s Complaint Policy – Civil Society Organizations Call for Further Strengthening
The updated complaint mechanism of the development banks FMO, DEG, and Proparco marks an important step forward. Organizations that participated in the consultation acknowledge the efforts to improve the mechanism. At the same time, they emphasize that much still needs to be done to make the policy truly effective, transparent, and independent.
-
Publication / 9 oktober 2025
-
Dossier /Fair Green and Global Alliance (FGG)
Together with civil society organisations from all over the world, the Fair Green and Global (FGG) Alliance aims for socially just, inclusive and environmentally sustainable societies in the Netherlands and the Global South.
-
News / 24 juni 2025Indigenous communities in Panama obtain recognition and partial mitigation measures by Development Banks FMO and DEG in relation to the Barro Blanco dam
Both ENDS and SOMO welcome the signing of the agreement of understanding between four Indigenous Ngäbe communities in Panama and the European development banks FMO and DEG on June 17th 2025. The arrangement includes a community development program that, together with a public statement issued by the banks, aims to recognize and mitigate some of the negative impacts caused by the Barro Blanco hydropower dam. We wish to congratulate the community-based organisation Movimiento 10 de Abril (M10) for its perseverance to seek justice for the affected communities, and we acknowledge the commitment of FMO and DEG to pursue a solution to their long-standing dispute with the communities arising from their partial financing of the hydropower project since 2011.
-
Dossier /Advocating for responsible policies of development banks
Development banks should comply with strict environmental and human rights rules to ensure that their projects benefit and do not harm the poorest groups. Both ENDS monitors the banks to make sure they do.
-
Blog / 11 april 2025FMO is very pleased with its own success – now the local population still needs to be
The FMO development bank is proud of its results and the opportunities it seizes where commercial banks fail to act. But do the bank's actions really help, ask Anne de Jonghe and Nick Middeldorp.
-
Letter / 3 maart 2025
Input for FMO’s “investment approach to responsibly managed forest plantations”
Both ENDS has been asked by FMO to comment on its draft investment approach to responsibly managed forest plantations. To follow are a number of observations and recommendations, partially informed by Both ENDS long legacy of working in the forest & land arena, in dialogue with international donors, philanthropic foundations, companies, certification bodies and notably with forest dependent communities and other land users.
-
Publication / 16 januari 2025
-
Letter / 22 juli 2024
Joint Call to Action: International Civil Society Demands Justice for Berta Cáceres' Murder Victims in Honduras
This is a joint call to action by international civil society organizations to call upon the Honduran authorities to ensure there is justice for the victims of the murder on Berta Caceres. Eight years and four months have passed since the crime against Berta and the Honduran justice system has not confirmed the sentences of those convicted and has not prosecuted the intellectual authors. We are extremely concerned that independent administration of justice and international agreements on human rights are not being upheld.
-
News / 13 december 2023Response from Both ENDS and OxfamNovib to new FMO climate fund
Both ENDS and Oxfam Novib welcome the new SDG Loan Fund launched by FMO. The fund aims to invest more than a billion euros in loans to small and medium-sized enterprises in low- and middle-income countries, in the energy, inclusive financial services and sustainable agriculture sectors. At the same time, both organisations are concerned about the impact of money from the fund on normal people in future recipient countries.
-
News / 6 november 2023Response to FMO investments in Nicaragua
On 27 October, RTL Nieuws reported that the Steungroep Nicaragua considers the millions of euros that the Dutch development bank FMO is investing in Nicaragua irresponsible. When asked, FMO stated that 'it had to continue to support its entrepreneurs in difficult times'. Both ENDS believes that the choice to continue to invest in Nicaragua brings substantial risks, which FMO does not take sufficiently into account when deciding on financing. Previous FMO investments have caused harm to people and the environment and, in some cases, even led to violence – with, as its lowest point, the murder of Berta Cáceres in Honduras in 2016.
-
Publication / 15 maart 2023
-
Dossier /Finance for agroecology
The lion's share of public budgets for climate, agriculture and development still goes to conventional agroindustrial projects that contribute to the current climate, food and biodiversity crises. Both ENDS and our partners are calling for a transition to agroecological practices that are people- and environment-friendly.
-
Press release / 5 december 2022Groups react with dismay to FMO’s position statement on Financial Intermediaries, pointing to outstanding human rights and climate concerns
On October 13th 2022, FMO published the final version of its Position Statement on Impact and ESG for Financial Intermediaries (FI statement). As civil society groups which have engaged with FMO on this topic for more than four years, we are extremely disappointed with the result. In the statement, FMO does not show sufficient commitment to ensuring its investments into financial intermediaries – which represent the bank's largest investment sector* – do not violate human rights or contribute to environmental harms.
-
Dossier /Large-scale infrastructure
Large-scale infrastructural projects have detrimental effects on local people and the environment, while their benefits are felt elsewhere. Both ENDS is working to ensure that local people have a greater say in decision-making and is investigating the way these projects are funded.
-
Blog / 12 oktober 2022Op-ed in Trouw: "Give more money to local sustainable food producers in developing countries"
The Dutch government and Dutch businesses spend a lot of money on food production in developing countries. But, according to Karin van Boxtel, policy officer at Both ENDS, far too little of that money finds its way to sustainable, nature-inclusive producers.
-
Press release / 5 oktober 2022Independent research confirms FMO’s responsibility for destruction caused by Barro Blanco dam, recommends compensation
Utrecht, 5 October 2022 - Dutch development bank FMO bears responsibility for the destruction of livelihoods, economic losses and environmental damage caused by the construction of the Barro Blanco dam in Panama, according to a report by the bank's Independent Complaints Mechanism (ICM). Indigenous communities affected by the dam are pleased that their complaints have been confirmed and reiterate their call for apologies and compensation.
-
Dossier /Uganda’s Energy Future
Despite the existence of many hydropower dams, foreign investments and large government spending on energy, and new plans for hydropower, oil and gas projects, the vast majority of rural Uganda still remains without electricity. Together with our local partners we are striving towards a sustainable energy strategy for Uganda that starts from the needs and wishes of local communities.
