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About 300 families have successfully relocated off the island of Gardi Sugdub due to concerns over rising sea levels, Panama’s ministry of housing announced Friday.
The small island off of the country’s Caribbean coast has been the home to the Indigenous Guna people for generations. Now, the majority of its population has decided to evacuate after the impacts of climate change have worsened.
The families completed their move-in processes this week to a newly built housing development called Nuevo Cartí, on the mainland in the Guna Yala region, that houses 1,350 individuals, according to Panamanian President Nito Cortizo.
“In recent years, the population of Gardi Sugdub Island has experienced great concern due to the rise in sea levels, a product of climate change. Given the risk for the residents, our government agreed to found a new settlement to ensure their future,” he said.
In addition to housing, the project included the construction of other necessary infrastructure such as power lines, aqueducts and roads, as well as cultural spaces and playgrounds, according to the Ministry of Housing.
“This residential project, in addition to providing them with their own and safe home, also brings together spaces for their traditions,” Minister of Housing Rogelio Paredes Robles said.
