Summary
In March 2023, Panama adopted a law to protect and conserve all species of sea turtles, as well as their habitats, to ensure the resilience and survival of these species. Panama’s national Rights of Nature law (2022) protects all ecosystems and species, including Sea Turtles. However, this specification recognizes and protects sea turtles as living beings with intrinsic value as individuals, in addition to their ecosystems, which will allow their needs and interests to have serious weight in the implementation of the law. This law recognizes sea turtles in Panama as a subject of rights, describing these protections as guaranteeing “the rights of sea turtles and their habitats, such as living and having free passage in a healthy environment, free of pollution and other anthropocentric impacts that cause physical and health damage, such as climate change, pollution, by-catch, coastal development and unregulated tourism” (6). The law was introduced by Congressman Gabriel Silva in 2021 and passed through three legal debates to receive input and formulate the law before making its way to the President’s desk.
Over the last 50 years, marine biodiversity has declined by 49 percent, and over 60 percent of the world’s 356 turtle species are threatened or already extinct, making them amongst the most vulnerable animals on Earth. Having existed for over 200 million years, sea turtles worldwide are at risk of extinction due to human-induced threats such as entanglement in fishing gear, illegal trade and consumption, coastal development, pollution and climate change.