The Association for the Promotion of New Development Alternatives (Asociación para la  Promoción de Nuevas Alternativas de Desarrollo), with support from the Panama Canal Authority and the United States Agency for International Development through the Fund for the Integrated Management of the Panama Canal Watershed, established a surveillance and control plan to address illegal dumping in the sub-basins of the Los Hules-Tinajones and Caño Quebrado rivers.Prior studies in the sub-basin of the Hules – Tinajones and Caño Quebrado rivers generally concluded that areas adjacent to roads were being used by people from outside the area to dump different types of waste that later wound up in the rivers. In addition, the studies identified the illegal dumping sites. This led to a surveillance and control plan for local communities to eradicate waste dumping by collectors and people from outside the area. Volunteer environmental watch groups were created to aid local authorities with the task of overseeing strict compliance with environmental laws.

Lessons learned:

·         Providing training about the importance of proper solid waste management is not enough to keep communities clean. It will always be necessary to have a citizen watch so that the irresponsible behavior of some people will not affect health and the environment.

·         If citizen participation in environmental surveillance tasks is to be effective, the volunteer environmental watch groups must be organized so that they will carry out the surveillance plans. These groups should have basic equipment and receive the support of the local authorities.

·         The creation of volunteer environmental watch groups is in no way a substitute for the responsibility of the local authorities to ensure strict compliance with the law. But it has also been demonstrated that the authorities also need technical assistance and training. It is important that each municipality have a mayoral decree that sets sanctions on individuals or businesses that dump waste and, along with the decree, training should be provided to the honorable representatives, magistrates, and council members about the procedures for enforcing these regulations in coordination with the volunteer environmental watch groups.

·         The combined effort of the local authorities and the voluntary environmental watch groups to keep the sub-basins clean should also have the backing of all institutions involved in their conservation.