Climate change has caused ocean levels on Panama’s Atlantic Coast to rise by almost 10 inches. It is threatening the ancestral island homelands of the Guna tribe and many are resigned to leaving for the mainland as the waters wash in.
The Gunas of the San Blas archipelago make their living from fishing, small-scale farming and tourism. But the rising waters have given many pause. As young people prepare to leave their island homes for higher altitudes on the mainland, there is concern their Guna traditions will be lost. The tribe has been cultivating its autonomy for centuries amid these turquoise waters.
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I have lived beside the Pacific ocean shore for 43 years and have not seen any change to the high tide marks on rocks and piers. It’s impossible for the Atlantic to rise 10 inches while the Pacific didn’t rise at all. Both oceans are connected and cannot rise unevenly.
If there is a problem on Panama’s Atlantic coast it must be caused by something else such sinking land or piers. Structures built on coral beds will sink over time as the older coral dies and collapses, this is happening with many islands in the Pacific. And structures built on land or water also sink over time if the piles aren’t driven deep enough to get down thru soft mud and sand to sit on solid bed rock.