Cobre Panama is committed to the conservation of wild flora through plant biotechnology.

– Training on this topic was given to students and professors of the Universidad Latina de Panamá and the Universidad de Panamá, Centro Regional Universitario de Coclé

Veraguas, June 28, 2023 – Cobre Panamá recently conducted a theoretical training entitled “Use of plant biotechnology (Micropropagation) as a tool for the conservation of wild flora species”, for students and professors of the Universidad Latina and the Universidad de Panamá, Centro Regional Universitario de Coclé.

Professor Martha Chávez de Von Chong, coordinator of the Faculty of Natural, Exact and Technological Sciences and professor of Microbiology and Parasitology at the Coclé Regional University Center of the University of Panama, thanked Cobre Panama for this workshop. “I found this workshop very interesting. We are grateful to Cobre Panama for having provided this opportunity to both teachers and students, by opening the door for us to learn about the practices that are carried out here and that will lead us to success in conservation.”

This training also included an academic tour of the GreenLab Biotechnology Laboratory, a biotechnology laboratory located in Mesa de Veraguas.

Carlos Castro, Deputy General Manager of GreenLab Biotechnology, welcomed the visitors and stressed the importance of using technology to maintain ecosystems. “Here at GreenLab we apply new technology to protect and maintain the native Panamanian flora and thus preserve biodiversity and it is very important to share this experience with teachers and students”.

For María Fernanda Ortega Henríquez, a Biology student, the visit to the GreenLab Biotechnology Laboratory represented a great opportunity. “We learned about new techniques that will help us in the future with the conservation of our country’s biodiversity.”

During the academic tour, the professors and students were accompanied by a multidisciplinary team of microbiologists and botanists from Cobre Panama, who are in charge of wild flora rescue, a pillar of the flora restoration and safeguarding programs, carried out by the company.

Luis Morales, Cobre Panama’s Micropropagation Biologist, highlighted the importance of the synergy between private companies and universities. “Cobre Panama works together with GreenLab in the preservation and conservation of native species, and being able to share this knowledge with university students contributes to guarantee the care of biodiversity in the future”.

It is important to note that Cobre Panama has an in vitro culture laboratory for species of interest, where the micropropagation technique is used to ensure their conservation and is located at the Universidad Latina, Penonomé headquarters. Species of interest are all those species of wild flora or fauna whose morphology or other characteristics make them special, unique, endemic to a given region and that require relevant actions for their preservation.

Cobre Panama’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), approved in 2011, has 371 commitments, of which 255 are environmental and of these, 73 are focused on the conservation and protection of species of interest.