Located on the Caribbean entrance to the Panama Canal , near the city of Colon , STRI's Galeta Island Marine Education Center is adjacent to a fringing coral reef, mangrove forest, and seagrass communities. The site of an intense study of the biological effects of a major oil spill, Galeta continues to serve as a location for marine environmental monitoring, and, more recently, has become an educational site with live exhibits for local and international visitors.
Galeta Marine Lab
The Galeta Marine Laboratory is located on the Caribbean Coast of Panama, in the Province of Colon , hosting research on its unique environment since the 1960's. Adjacent to a fringing coral reef, protected by mangrove forest and crowded with other marine organisms that live in seagrass communities, it is the site of an intense study of the biological effects of a major oil spill, and it is the location for STRI's marine environmental monitoring program, for which a brand new technological tower has just been installed, measuring physical parameters such as: air humidity, wind direction and temperature, precipitation, sea water level, temperature, salinity and solar radiation.
A management plan for use of the area including adjacent lands for research, education and ecotourism is currently being developed to allow joint use by STRI, local universities, members of the local community and visitors.