TThere are no roads through the Darien Gap. This vast, impenetrable forest spans the entire width of the land bridge between South and Central America, but it is almost impossible to cross: hundreds of people have died trying to cross it on foot.
Its size and hostility have protected it from development for millennia, protecting hundreds of species – from harpy eagles and giant anteaters to jaguars and red-crested tamarins – in one of the most biodiverse places on Earth. But it also made him incredibly difficult to defend. Maintaining 575,000 hectares (1,420,856 acres) of beaches, mangroves and rainforests with just 20 rangers often seemed impossible, said Segundo Zugasti, director of Darien National Park. Like tropical forests around the world, they are steadily declining, with at least 15% lost in two decades due to logging, mining and livestock farming.
But over the past three years, Panama has launched an unexpected counterattack that could offer hope to the rest of the world's forests. In 2022, the government took a tough stance on deforestation and modernized its park ranger force in collaboration with the NGO Global Conservation, and deforestation in the park began to decline. This decline accelerated when President José Raúl Mulino took office in July 2024.
Mulino purged the Environment Ministry of corrupt officials and imposed a complete moratorium on logging to prevent companies from using local logging permits. The park ranger force has been expanded with 30 new recruits and 11 forestry officers, increasing the number from six to more than 40. The number of patrols has grown from almost zero in 2022 to 55 in 2024, with more than 150 expected in 2025.
“People don’t look at us the same way anymore,” says Sugasti. “Now kids are asking when they can sign up to become a ranger!”
In an era when cash-strapped governments are cutting environmental budgets, Jeff Morgan, Director of Global Savingwho collaborates with the park, says: “It’s a miracle.”
“I've been in this industry for over 10 years and have worked in 22 countries. I've never seen anything like it,” he says.
Global Conservation has provided the park with new trucks, boats, food and fuel, giving rangers the tools and confidence to reach places they once avoided. “Now, if we have to go by boat, truck or foot, we will go there – no matter how far it is. As long as we feel safe and supported, we will do it,” says Esquivel Ramirez, a park ranger.
Another significant shift has occurred in the use of technology. Due to the weak telephone signal in the rainforest, the rangers spent most of their time incommunicado, chasing ghosts. By the time they received signals about intruders cutting down trees, they had already disappeared. Rangers now have access to cameras, satellites and cloud systems, starting with Elon Musk's Starlink, and are in constant communication with each other, allowing for faster and more coordinated responses.
Sugasti says, “In the past, sending a park ranger into remote areas meant risking their lives. Now I can quickly send them to the most remote areas, knowing they are safe.”
Trail cameras automatically record the movements of logging crews, and all officers use EarthRanger, a cloud-based fleet management system that allows them to immediately share photos, GPS locations and incident reports. If a fire is reported inside the park, they will be able to immediately locate the fire.
The platform is also linked to external sources such as Global Forest Watch satellites that detect fire in real time. There were no fires in the park in 2024 or 2025, Segasti said. Where once one or two rangers might arrive late and alone, teams of five can now be quickly dispatched together. As a result, the team's presence becomes more visible and feared, and the loggers and miners retreat.
“Illegal mining, animal poaching and logging have become much less common. Now they are afraid of us,” says ranger Juan Sebuyguera, wearing his standard green wide-brimmed hat.
What's most remarkable is that the technology is neither expensive nor complex, says Herson Rodrigues, who manages the Darién Global Conservation project. Real-time fire alerts from EarthRanger and Global Forest Watch are free—all rangers need is access to Starlink and smartphones.
Greater financial support also meant that five rusty boat engines that had not been serviced for ten years could be repaired.
“To, [rangers] could not do their jobs because they lacked basic necessities such as oil, fuel or spare parts. This [about] being efficient and giving them what they need, when they need it,” Rodriguez says.
The results were stunning. Forest loss within the national park fell by 88% between 2022 and 2025, reaching its lowest level in 20 years, according to Global Forest Watch. This year, logging in the park has dropped to almost zero, park officials say.
Restoring Darien National Park should help protect one of the region's largest carbon sinks, as well as the indigenous peoples and many animal species that live there. This is also due to the disappearance of rainforests throughout Central America.
“Nicaragua is gone. Mexico, Guatemala – it's all going now. If you look on Google Earth, we'll see these little patches of green. It's the last 10% of what was there 100 years ago. So if we don't get it right soon…” Morgan says, trailing off, preferring not to go into detail about the consequences of losing the greatest intact rainforest north of the Amazon.
Tropical forest loss will double in 2024. reaching the highest level recorded in two decades.
Engaging park rangers who still work with pens and pads in an age of cameras, tablets and cloud computing is a pragmatic way to turn the tide when climate diplomacy at summits such as Cop is failing, Morgan says.
The improvement in Panama also shows how co-investment—partnering with governments that are also investing in conservation—makes rangers more accountable and produces better results, he said. And it's also faster.
“It takes three years to get a USAID or Defra grant. You do a ton of paperwork and by the time it's ready the government has changed, the president is now terrible, the park directors are terrible. In that time everything can be destroyed,” says Morgan.
Instead of waiting for climate finance, direct co-investment with governments should be sought, Morgan says. “That's just one park. Imagine the difference we could make with just $200,000 a year times 1,000 parks,” he says.
