2022 Panama Home Conference Kit

Many people only know Aguadulce as that annoying little town along the Pan-American Highway where traffic becomes congested… And it’s true—but it’s a misconception that traffic is all there is to this town. The other misconception is that Aguadulce’s only attraction is the Spanish-colonial architecture. There’s so much more…

Aguadulce’s history is mysterious… It was known as “la tierra de la sal y el azúcar” (the land of salt and sugar) during the late 18th century and was baptized as San Juan Bautista de Aguadulce around the same time.

The Aguadulceña community takes great pride in their cultural history and its importance to the country. The small town preserves several cultural landmarks that the now Ministry of Culture proclaimed important to Panama’s national heritage in 2017…

One is the Museum of Salt and Sugar, with its colonial architecture and canary yellow façade. For a nominal fee, you can look at pre-Colombian artifacts, historical documents, photographs, as well as the origins of the sugar industry. Another iconic building is the Eduardo Pedreschi Municipal Palace. Built in 1925, it’s named after the Italian architect who designed many of the important buildings in the city.

Currently, Aguadulce is restoring, improving, and repairing important city structures, with many visible renovation projects like Parque 19 de Octubre, directly across the street from the historic San Juan Bautista Church.

If you enjoy fresh air and sunshine (with some rain mixed in), Aguadulce is a great place to live, with an abundance of outdoor activities to do here… limited only by your imagination and abilities.

The fight many worldwide organizations are putting up against poaching, illegal pet trade, trophy hunting, etc., is crucial. Panamanian organizations have taken a stand in defending, and even actively rescuing, local fauna.

Some organizations are dedicated to research, others to educating communities (particularly children) about the importance of conservation, and other organizations are dedicated to rescuing and caring for certain species.

The Pan-American Conservation Association (APPC) was founded in 2005 by Nestor Correa. This NGO’s mission is to preserve and protect Panama’s incredibly rich biodiversity. From its foundation until now, APPC has recused over 5,000 wild animals including ocelots, a jaguar, alligators, and monkeys. Their main rescue, though, are sloths.

APPC moved its rescue center and headquarters to the Gamboa Rainforest Resort in 2014, and it inaugurated the first Sloth Sanctuary in Panama in 2017.

Ricardo Moreno, a Panamanian biologist passionate about creating coexistence between jaguars and people, is founder and president of Yaguará Panamá. The organization focuses on research through data collection on the number of felines passing through and living on the isthmus.

Yaguará Panamá monitors individuals of specific species using tracking collars.

It’s important to know that anyone can help the conservation cause. Any action you take, no matter how small you may think it is, makes a difference.