Mayor Bosco’s already seriously diminished standing in the public eye sank a few more notches this week with the appearance of heavy machinery in Bella Vista to chop down trees in the “lungs of Obarrio.”
“Only God can make a tree” went the words of a once popular song, but an order issued by the Municipal Government of Panama can lead to their destruction..
The municipality, headed by Mayor Bosco authorized the felling of 181 trees located between Calles 54 and 56..
For the city it is the loss of an irreplaceable green spot in the middle of a concrete jungle. For the mayor, the loss of support from environmental activists, if there was any left following the damage to the Cinta Costera grass during his Christmas charade
Environmentalist, Raisa Banfield, claimed that pollution on Calle 50near the site of the devastation, will increase to the detriment of all. and said that the devastation is the product of the indifference of local government, voracious business interests, and little citizen action to defend their natural heritage.
Banfield said that environmental groups had tried, albeit, to stop the destruction of the forest area, but, no received no response.