What Happened
Recent reconstruction of Panama’s institutional history highlights the role of presidential commissions and technical teams in defining the Canal watershed and creating modern water governance. Ricardo González de Mena, who coordinated those commissions, provided documents and testimony that clarify how the Autoridad de la Región Interoceánica (ARI) and the Autoridad del Canal de Panamá (ACP) were shaped and how the authority to define basin limits was introduced.
Background
During the transition that led to creation of new entities for the Canal and its surrounding areas, multidisciplinary teams—many working ad honorem—contributed technical and legal proposals to ensure sustainable management of the watershed. Under the direction of Joaquín J. Vallarino Jr., nearly a hundred professionals formed a Grupo de Apoyo and eight subcommissions to translate sustainability and protection objectives into concrete institutional proposals.
Key Players and Proposals
One documented milestone was the “Anteproyecto Constitucional Durling,” prepared by jurist Ricardo Durling and presented to the Cabinet Council. That proposal sought to embed in the Constitution a comprehensive plan for watershed management, with clear norms and coordination between the future managing entity and the ACP to address fragmented competencies that previously involved more than thirty corregimientos and multiple institutions.
Engineers and technical leaders cited in the reconstruction include Salvador Sánchez, Sayda de Grimaldo, Juan Héctor Díaz, Luis Barraza, Ramiro Castrejón, Guillermo Fernández, Dulcidio González, Lorenzo Hincapié, Marcelo Narbona and Jorge Ricardo Riba. Their work in the Subcomisión de Cuenca Hidrográfica helped design an integrated management system to protect and, where needed, expand the Canal watershed.
Unresolved Questions
Despite the documentation, a mystery remains over who specifically pushed for the constitutional clause granting the ACP Board the power to define the watershed limits. Evidence suggests Juan Héctor Díaz may have played a key role, an idea echoed by some colleagues such as engineer Luis Alvarado, but the archives consulted do not unequivocally identify the single author of that crucial numeral.
What This Means
The search for the “hidrólogo desconocido” is more than a quest for a name: it is recognition of the collective, often quiet work of engineers, scientists and public servants who laid the groundwork for Panama’s modern water governance. The commissions’ recommendations—linked to international commitments such as the 1977 Canal Treaty—sought to secure water for the population and Canal operations amid challenges like climate variability and population growth. González de Mena’s book, La Tierra Prometida tiene un Mañana, remains a key reference for understanding these institutional origins.
The author of the reconstruction is identified as a former vice president of Environment, Water and Energy of the Autoridad del Canal de Panamá, and he calls for continued research to fully document the origins of decisions that still shape Panama’s water future.