Digna Benite, a community leader, describes her home village of Limon de Chagres as a place filled with love.

Tomas Ayuso/NPR

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Tomas Ayuso/NPR

Digna Benite, a community leader, refers to her village of Limon de Chagres as a land of love.

Tomas Ayuso/NPR

Panama is currently tackling a persistent issue. With each vessel navigating the Panama Canal, over 50 million gallons of fresh water from Lake Gatun are lost to the ocean.

Historically, few imagined Panama could face water shortages, given its status as one of the world’s wettest nations. However, a severe drought a few years back forced the canal to cut its operations by more than a third, significantly affecting global shipping routes.

To address the canal’s water requirements, authorities have opted to construct a dam along the Rio Indio, necessitating the relocation of over 2,000 residents.

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This episode was crafted by Karen Zamora, Rolando Arrieta, Andrea Salcedo, Alejandra Marquez Janse, and Tomas Ayuso. It was refined by Courtney Dorning and Nadia Lancy, with assistance from Alejandra Borunda and Neela Banerjee. Sami Yenigun serves as our executive producer.