18
Datum NA of 1927, are: North: 1,009.073 km and East: 731.286 km. One continues to the true
North for a distance of 10.9 km until reaching point No. 2, whose coordinates are: North, 1,019.970
km and East 731.286 km.; from this point to true East and a distance of 5.4 km one reaches point
No. 3, whose coordinates are: North 1,019.970 km, East 736.678 km, from this point to true North
and a distance of 4.9 km until reaching point No. 4, whose coordinates are: North 1,024.868 km
and East 736.678 km; from here and to the true East and a distance of 29.7 km one reaches point
No. 5, whose coordinates are: North 1,024.868 km and East 766.343 km; to the true South and a
distance of 8.0 km one reaches point No. 6, whose coordinates are: North 1,016.866 km and East
766.343 km; to the true East and a distance of 8.6 km one reaches point No. 7, whose coordinates
are: North 1,016.866 km and East 774.983 km; to the South 4500’00’’ East and a distance of 19.9
km one reaches point No. 8, whose coordinates are: North 1,002.792 km and East 789.028 km; to
the South 4500’00’’ West and a distance of 18.5 km, until reaching point No. 9, whose coordinates
are: North 989.708 km and East 775.923 km; from here North 4500’00’’ West and a distance of
18.3 km until reaching point No. 10, whose coordinates are: North 1,002.641 km and East 762.960
km from here to the true West and a distance of 25.2 km until reaching point No. 11, whose
coordinates are: North 1,002.641 km and East 737.731 km to North 4500’00’’ West and a distance
of 9.1 km until reaching point No. 1, that is the starting point, whose coordinates were stated above.
2
The area within the polygon has been described as 1,124.24 km .
79.
The IACHR observes that by means of that article, the State alienated an area of
2
1,124.24 km , belonging to the “non-adjudicable areas of the Bayano,” to set them aside for construction
of the Hydroelectric Complex of the Bayano. In compensation for the dispossession of their ancestral
territories, Articles 2 and 3 of Cabinet Decree 123 provided for granting new lands, which were declared
non-adjudicable. Those provisions established as follows:
Article two: The lands adjacent to the current Bayano Indigenous Reserve, between the boundaries
of said Reserve and those of the Polygon described in Article One of this Decree, are hereby
declared non-adjudicable. The area whose non-adjudicability is established in this Article is 457.11
2
km .
Article three: Also declared non-adjudicable is the area situated to the East of the current Bayano
Indigenous Reserve between the Bayano and Cañazas rivers, described next:
Starting from point “A” in the town of Piriá, one follows along the Bayano river for a distance of
approximately 45.33 km upriver to its source in the Serranía de San Blas, along the boundary
between the Province of Panamá and the Comarca of San Blas, a point that is called “B”; from here
one follows to the southeast along the continental divide of waters that constitutes that boundary,
for a distance of approximately 14.48 km until reaching point “C,” which is the interception of the
boundaries of the Province of Panamá, the Comarca of San Blas, and the Province of Darién; from
here one follows southward along the political boundary between Panamá and Darién, for a
distance of approximately 21.33 km to the source of the Cañazas river, a point that is called “D”;
from here one follows westward along the Cañazas river, downriver, for a distance of 19.91 km until
reaching point “E” where this river intercepts the boundary of the current Bayano Indigenous
Reserve and finally along the boundary of the Reserve, to the Northwest for a distance of
approximately 23.28 until reaching the town of Piriá, point “A,” which was the starting point. The
2
area included in the zone that has been described is 426.33 km .
Paragraph: The purpose of the non-adjudicability of these lands is to compensate for the area of
the current Indigenous Reserve that will be flooded by the reservoir of the Bayano Hydroelectric
74
Project.
80.
The IACHR calls attention to the last paragraph quoted, for it shows that the indigenous
communities that were relocated due to the hydroelectric project of the Bayano were in effect within the
74
Annex 14. Cabinet Decree 123, of May 8, 1969. Other relevant provisions of this decree include Article 5, which
provides “The rights of the owners of lands duly registered in the Public Registry and who are in the areas declared non-adjudicable
shall be recognized, with the limitations contained in the Law”; and Article 6, which establishes: “The implementation of soil
conservation practices and the rational exploitation of forests is obligatory throughout the Bayano river basin.”