Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Wind, hydro and other renewables · Panama · 2008–2024

Panama moves 1,351 people off Gardi Sugdub island to the mainland

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 1 none on record · 2 insufficient · 1 not measured · 1 disputed See the gaps

Panama moved 1,351 people from the Gardi Sugdub island to the mainland in June 2024, citing overcrowding and later sea-level rise. The case also covers the 2016 withdrawal of carbon credits for the Barro Blanco hydro dam.

What?
Panama moved 1,351 people, including 495 children, from Gardi Sugdub island to the mainland in June 2024. Panamá América
Where?
Gardi Sugdub island and the Isberyala mainland site, Panama Panamá América
When?
Move carried out 3-6 June 2024. Panamá América
Who?
Gained
None on record
Lost
  • Residents of Gardi Sugdub — Moved off the island; a June 2025 report says water flowed one hour a day and the health post stayed on the island
Harmed
None on record
Why?
Overcrowding first; sea-level rise was added later as a reason.
How?
Resettlement carried out by Panama's Housing Ministry with IDB support from 2018 to 2023.
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

Between 3 and 6 June 2024, 1,351 people, including 495 children, were moved from Gardi Sugdub island to the mainland, according to Panamá América.

Guna elders first proposed the move in 2008 because of overcrowding; construction stalled for years for lack of funds.

A June 2025 report said water flowed for one hour a day in the new settlement and that about 100 people remained on the island.

Panama withdrew the UN carbon-credit registration of the Barro Blanco hydro dam in November 2016, the first host-country withdrawal, according to Carbon Market Watch.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Record

    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: the relocation cost about US$12.2 million, from a press report whose outlet was not identified.
    • Disputed Sources differ on how many people stayed on the island: about 200 in June 2024 and about 100 in June 2025.
    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: FMO and DEG each lent US$25 million to the Barro Blanco dam, and the banks' independent complaints panel found policy breaches.
    • None on record The sources reviewed do not give the Barro Blanco dam's current operating status.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations✓ Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Press and investigations

    Communities and civil society

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
    Terms used on this page

    Carbon and conservation finance

    Carbon credit
    A certificate representing one tonne of carbon dioxide (or equivalent) that a project says it reduced, avoided or removed. Buyers use credits to balance their own emissions in climate claims.

    Institutions

    IDB
    The Inter-American Development Bank.

    Bonds and banking

    Guarantee
    A commitment by a third party, often a development bank, to pay if the borrower does not.
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