ABOUT THE OTHER PANAMA
The Other Panama was founded in 2015 with the hope of providing trips and courses that educate and create awareness about our seas and their inhabitants.
Whilst at the same time giving people unforgettable experiences and memories that will inspire them to conserve what they saw and loved.
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Many people know Panama by the Panama Canal, or Panama City but we would like to introduce you to The Other Panama.
A pristine Panama, positively brimming with wildlife and beautiful flora and fauna, a side of Panama with a rich a diverse marine life where otherwise scarce animals, plants and insects still thrive
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Conservation & Coiba
Coiba Island National Park is UNESCO World Heritage Site and National Marine Park, is home to many rare & unique species. Isla Coiba was the site of one of the last remaining penal colonies.
After the close of the prison in 2005, scientists and researchers found the islands and the surrounding seas to be in an extraordinary state of conservation
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The region where this abundance still exists is mainly in and around the Coiba National Park, on the less visited Pacific coast of the country so this is currently where The Other Panama (TOP) is focussing its efforts.
How do we encourage and enable our guests to help our Oceans while they are enjoying them?
The Other Panama documents all that it sees above and below the surface on its trips and reports all marine life sightings to numerous well established Conservation Groups.
TOP collects this data in order to gain a better understanding what is happening in our oceans and help pressure governments into better protection laws and enforcement and patrols of established marine parks.
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Our Commitments
Plastic water bottles
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With so much plastic polluting our seas and beaches around the world, we endeavour to use the absolute bare minimum of plastic in our operation.Instead of just trying to recycle our waste we are focused on reducing or eliminating it completely.
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For this reason we do not provide guests with plastic water bottles but rather clean drinking water from a cooler with ice and provide each guest with a reusable water bottle for the duration of their stay.
Vegetarian/Vegan Cuisine
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The United Nations estimates that all the worlds fisheries will be empty and our oceans dead by the year 2048, If we continue to consume animals at our current rate, this is a very alarming reality and one The Other Panama does not wish to contribute to and for this reason the food we serve on our day trips and overnight is Vegan/Vegetarian.
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Data Collection
Whether we are in the jungle, diving with the turtles or snorkelling over reefs among the sharks we are observing and recording all that we see.
We note the locations, times and numbers of that which we identify and pass this information on to the numerous marine and land NGOs who can use it to help collect this data in order to gain a better understanding what is happening in our oceans and help pressure governments into better protection laws and enforcement and patrols of established National parks.
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During the months that the Humpback Whales are with us we photograph their tails and pass these photos on to the Smithsonian Institute of Marine Science.
They in turn are able to use this information in order to monitor the Whales movements and numbers and this enables them to push for the protection these incredible cetaceans deserve.
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We have taken part in a number of programs and campaigns to protect Sea turtles nests in Latin America from habitat destruction and poaching of their eggs, and armed with the knowledge and information we have gathered are looking at ways to initiate a program in the surrounding area working alongside other Turtle Conservation Groups.
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We also report any illegal fishing activity we see to the appropriate authorities and inform the worlds most effective Direct Action Marine Conservation Organisation Sea Shepherd of any illegal poaching activities.
With the help of our reports and knowledge Sea Shepherd came to Coiba National Park in 2017 as part of Operation Treasured Islands.
Many illegal fising lines were removed from the park and an illegal fishing boat was confiscated.
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Beach Cleaning
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Any time we have a boat available to transport that which we collect, we conduct a beach clean at each location we stop at, thankfully most of the beaches we visit are still beautiful and untouched but there is always a few plastic bottles to be collected.
Since 2018 we have been working in Partnership with Parley for the Oceans and with their funding we have removed more then 6 tons of plastic waste from our Oceans. To learn more about our beach clean ups and how you can volunteer click here:
https://www.theotherpanama.com/beach-clean-ups
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