Fortifications on the Caribbean Side of Panama: Portobelo-San Lorenzo

a) Deterioration and destruction of the fabric of the sites by environmental factors, lack of maintenance,as well as polluted water;

b) Erosion;

c) Absence of management policies;

d) Uncontrolled urban development

e) Tourism pressures (in particular at Portobelo).

The State Party sent information that confirmed damage that had already been detected in 2001, without any mention of the state of progress of the project undertaken by the World Monuments Fund, which started in 2003.

The report states that neither San Lorenzo nor Portobelo have specific management plans.

As for the problems detected in San Lorenzo, the report mentioned:

a) The poor state of the road leading to the Castle, with difficult access, principally in the rainy season;

b) The lack of parking facilities;

c) No restrooms, electricity or drinking water is available;

d) Poor maintenance of the surrounding environment;

e) No signage or printed information available;

f) No tourist facilities or visitor center exists;

g) Damage to the dock at the base of the fortress is in evidence;

h) No safe access to the courtyard of the Castle is provided.

In the case of Portobelo, some recurrent problems are mentioned:

i) Squatter settlements in immediate proximity to the fortifications;

j) No implementation of the conservation regulations on culture and environment by local authorities;

k) No housing alternatives for families, who have built their houses on the fortifications;

l) No tourist facilities, no hotels, no docks;

m) The drainage system in the village does not work correctly and the water supply is insufficient;

n) No system of treatment of residual water is available, increasing pollution in the urban and archeological areas as well as in the sea;

o) No system for collecting rain water is available;

p) The monuments require conservation and restoration interventions;

q) It is mentioned that a territorial plan has been developed but not implemented.

The report mentions that the National Institute of Culture is working on the development of the Patronato de San Lorenzo to start preservation and rehabilitation works, through a technical office in Portobello to develop a more effective and direct relationship between the different levels of government to reinvigorate efforts on the site.

The World Heritage Series N°19, published in December 2006, is devoted to Fortifications in the Americas. A chapter addresses in detail the conservation priorities and work already undertaken in San Lorenzo and Portobelo. Unfortunately, the State Party report does not include this information. The publication is available at: https://whc.unesco.org/en/series/19