USAID/Panama's main objective in its "Improved Management and Conservation of Critical Watersheds" program is to improve the management of the Panama Canal Watershed (PCW). Protected areas cover a significant percentage of the PCW therefore their appropriate management is key to the PCW sustainability. Protected areas of the PCW contain significant biodiversity and support critical watershed services and hydrological processes; however, these parks are under considerable threat due to external pressures by human populations and lack of resources for their management.
Sustainable tourism is expected to generate employment for communities around protected areas, additional resources in park fees to improve the management of protected areas, and to build constituency. Better management and sustainability of protected areas in the PCW is key to protecting the biodiversity and ecosystem goods and services they contain. The conservation and improved management of these resources and processes is critical to the economic growth and development of local communities as well as to Panama as a whole, since it will ensure sufficient quantity and quality of water resources for the continued operation of the Panama Canal.