IHCantabria boosts Panama’s climate planning with the creation of a Climate Risk Atlas

The Institute of Environmental Hydraulics of the University of Cantabria(IHCantabria) has developed, with the support and sponsorship of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Interactive Atlas of Climate Risk in Panama, a tool that was presented on December 2 by the Ministry of Environment (MiAMBIENTE), through its Climate Change Directorate.

The information provided by this Atlas is essential for strengthening territorial planning, strategic decision making and adaptation to the growing challenges of climate change, with a direct impact on the security and well-being of the Panamanian population.

The Atlas is integrated into the Panamanian government’s National Climate Transparency Platform and combines advanced scientific data with detailed climate risk analysis. It addresses hazards such as floods, sea level rise, landslides, drought and forest fires, and phenomena such as heat waves and the spread of mosquito-borne diseases.

A fundamental technical contribution

Thanks to the technical experience of IHCantabria, especially of the Hydraulic Engineering and Hydroclimatology groups, climate scenarios and risk analyses have been generated that provide information to the Central American country, both for its current situation and for the 2050 horizon.

Manuel del Jesus and Salvador Navas Fernández have been in charge of developing the climate change scenarios through the project “Generation of climate change scenarios for Panama“, whose objective is to update climate forecasts for this country. Its development required the use of advanced statistical downscaling techniques for different time periods and emissions scenarios.

Disaster risk assessment studies, which have included hazard, exposure and vulnerability analysis, have been developed under the leadership of researchers Elsa Cacho Taeño and Beatriz Tejerina Vega, with a multidisciplinary approach that integrates robust scientific methodologies already consolidated at IHCantabria.

Strategic impact for Panama and a model for international cooperation

The Interactive Climate Risk Atlas of Panama facilitates planning in key sectors -such as agriculture, energy, infrastructure, human settlements and health─, which allows guiding investment and public policies towards a more resilient future. Its design has been achieved thanks to the collaboration of more than 15 national and international institutions, with the technical support of IHCantabria, which also offered training workshops to the technical staff of the Ministry of Environment.

“Climate change is a present and urgent reality. Tools such as this Atlas are fundamental to visualize and confront current and future climate risks,” said Juan Carlos Navarro, Panama’s Minister of the Environment, at the Atlas presentation ceremony held in Panama City.

This project reflects the effectiveness of cooperation between institutions such as the IDB, MiAMBIENTE and centers of excellence such as IHCantabria. It also underlines the commitment of this institute to the search for innovative and sustainable solutions to the challenges of climate change, which has consolidated its role as a global reference in applied research. Therefore, IHCantabria has the experience and capacity to replicate this initiative in other countries that require it.

The interactive atlas can be accessed through the following link: https://atlasderiesgoclimatico.miambiente.gob.pa/atlas