“Panama meeting on human rights, environmental issues sows hope and disappointment”, 8 Apr 17

…The nearly two-decade fight to stop Barro Blanco has led to violent conflicts with the Ngäbe-Buglé people and drawn fire from human rights and environmental advocates internationally as an example of the misuse of carbon offset programs…[B]ut talks seemed to reach a stalemate, because residents wanted two conditions in order to move forward. First, the reservoir levels need to be lowered below the line of the autonomous territory (comarca) to allow a professional archaeological investigation of the petrogylphs that have been submerged. The petroglyphs are the Ngäbe’s most important ceremonial site...Second, they repeated their request for representatives of the Dutch and German development banks that financed the project to visit the Ngäbe communities affected by the reservoir….Dutch Development Bank FMO press officer, wrote to this reporter: "FMO continues to emphasize the need for dialogue and consent between all parties involved…We do not foresee further action as this would possibly interfere with the negotiations between the government and the indigenous representation."…