Panama Canal operations disrupted due to severe drought, forcing reduced ship traffic.
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00:00For almost a year, the number of ships passing through the Panama Canal has been reduced
00:05to cope with the severe drought brought by the El Niño weather phenomenon.
00:11Without enough water to raise and lower vessels through the locks, officials were left with
00:16no alternative but to cut operations, creating headaches for shipping worldwide.
00:23Hydrologist Abelardo Bal says new water sources are essential to maintaining the canal's
00:29profitability.
00:31The canal was designed more than 100 years ago for a certain demand of water, a certain
00:36number of transits and a certain population living in Panama City.
00:41And now the demand has greatly increased, therefore the Panama Canal needs to increase
00:46its water supply in order to meet that water demand.
00:50The canal operations depend on fresh water from artificial lakes that also supply drinking
00:55water for half of Panama's population, in a country where almost 50% of potable water
01:02is lost to poor management.
01:05As Panama's population grows and the seaborne trade expands, the government worry that the
01:11demand for water will greatly surpass the available supply by 2050.
01:20The canal authority says they're considering various options including costly desalination
01:25plants and creating new reservoirs which would require relocating thousands of people.
01:30The canal is important because it generates income and growth.
01:37We need to guarantee its best management whilst preserving people's rights to water and land.
01:46Last year, deadly protests broke out when the government allowed a Canadian company
01:50to expand its mining contract, impacting water resources.
01:54The country's Supreme Court eventually ruled the government's contract with the company
01:58was unconstitutional.
02:01Scientists say things could improve in coming months and the canal could return to normal
02:06operations in 2025.
02:09But climate change means the cycle of dry and wet weather could continue to become more
02:13severe and unpredictable.
02:20Our hypothesis is that global warming will continue to make climate events like the Niño
02:24and Niña phenomenon worse, so we need to listen to the warnings.
02:30The newly elected president of Panama, José Raúl Mulino, has not presented any concrete
02:35plans for the future of the canal, but the clock is ticking for Panama's most important
02:41business and a key transit route for the world.
02:44Alessandro Ampietti, Al Jazeera, Panama.