About: Barro Blanco Dam

Barro Blanco is a gravity dam on the Tabasara River in the Chiriqui Province of Panama. It began generating in 2017 with capacity of 28.56 MW. Although the government had authorized the dam, it suspended construction in February 2015 after protests. The President of the Republic authorized the partial restart of construction in August 2015, but prohibited the filling of the reservoir pending a final agreement. Important issues concerning the dam are controversial, such as the question whether the indigenous communities in the area initially had expressed their support or their opposition to the dam's construction and how well they had been informed about the project and its impacts prior to expressing their views.