In response to the increase in actions that threaten the natural habitat, the Ministry of Environment (Mi Ambiente) created a specialized team for the prevention, detection, investigation and control of administrative failures and environmental crimes with the aim of coordinating with the rest of the State institutions the actions to be taken to counteract these offenses. The Specialized Multidisciplinary Team (EME – ENVIRONMENTAL), created by Executive Decree No. 2 of December 29, 2025, will act exclusively as a support body under the direction of Mi Ambiente; therefore, it will not have legal personality, but will be responsible for carrying out investigative acts in coordination with the Public Ministry in cases of alleged crimes against the environment and territorial planning, for which it will prepare technical reports.
It will also assist the entity in internal investigations related to alleged administrative or disciplinary offenses committed by its officials through follow-up reports and results of the actions taken. The coordinating committee, made up of personnel from Mi Ambiente, the National Police, the National Aeronaval Service and the National Border Service, must develop a work plan, paying special attention to the events that occurred in protected areas. In addition, he will deliver to the Minister of the Environment, Juan Carlos Navarro, a semi-annual management report that will detail the results obtained, ongoing research, use of allocated resources, among other elements necessary to evaluate his performance. “The Minister of the Environment will annually evaluate the effectiveness of the EME-AMBIENTAL through management indicators, operational efficiency and goal achievement, in order to recommend adjustments or improvements to its plans and programs,” the document states.
The entity is also ordered to enable a website so that the population can access the reports generated by this specialized group, whose budget allocation will be obtained from the Ministries of Environment and Public Security. Data from the Public Prosecutor’s Office reveals that, up to the month of November, 517 complaints have been filed for crimes against the environment and land use planning, an increase of 30% compared to the same period last year, when 399 were filed. Crimes against natural resources have the highest incidence of cases with 303, followed by those affecting domestic animals (133), wildlife (58) and the processing, approval and compliance of urban and territorial planning (23). The areas with the highest incidence in the country are the provinces of Panama, Chiriquí, Bocas del Toro, Los Santos, Panama Oeste, Darién, Veraguas, Coclé, Los Santos and Colón.
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