Panama Canal faces water crisis amid drought and growing demand

Panama Canal operations disrupted due to severe drought, forcing reduced ship traffic.

Transcript

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.