A major topic of debate is whether the United States had the ethical right to decide to build the canal. At the time, Panama was part of Colombian territory, meaning the U.S. had to gain permission to build there. Resultantly, the Colombian Congress initially refused the U.S. the rights to construct the Panama Canal in September 1903. However, just a few months later, a U.S.-influenced revolt erupted in Panama, after which the U.S. was granted use of the Canal Zone. This raises questions about whether American imperialism and perceived dominance over Latin America played a significant role in pressuring both Panamanians and Colombians. Costing the U.S. $15.8 billion in today’s money, the 65km-long Panama Canal opened to the shipping world in 1914.
Further debate has ensued over the environmental impacts of the canal and whether the construction efforts were ethical.
Environmental Costs: A Fragile Landscape Under Strain
One of the most obvious environmental concerns regarding the Panama Canal is the heavy traffic it receives. According to official Panama Canal statistics, traffic fell from 14,080 vessels in 2023 to 11,240 in 2024. In comparison, other major canals, such as the English Channel and the Suez Canal, experience significantly more traffic, with the Suez Canal receiving almost twice as many vessels as the Panama Canal. The Panama Canal shortens voyages by approximately 8,000 nautical miles and cuts travel time by up to five months, reducing pollution levels and CO2 emissions. However, the canal’s environmental impact must not be understated.
Panama’s unstable climate, including heavy rainfall and infertile, unstable soils, has caused significant issues in the region. During construction, landslides resulted in an additional 40 million cubic metres of excavation. These landslides frequently blocked the canal, causing major disruptions to local ecosystems. Additionally, marine species from both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans invaded the local lakes, creating an unstable environment. While the frequency of major landslides has decreased, notable events in 1974 and 1986 severely disrupted canal traffic.
In addition to landslides, the canal has exacerbated other environmental problems. The infertile soils are a direct result of deforestation around the canal’s watershed, reducing the interception of rainfall and causing major silting (large concentrations of soil suspended in water) in the lakes. This has lowered the lakes’ maximum capacity and increased the risk of flooding. Climate change is expected to worsen these issues, with increased rainfall and extreme weather conditions further damaging plant ecosystems. Although afforestation efforts were made when the canal was initially built, extensive logging and slash-and-burn agriculture have since destroyed half of the surrounding forests.
A Cost to Humanity?
From 1904 to 1914, the canal’s construction brought several benefits to the region. It provided employment opportunities and new skills for local workers, with nearly 80,000 people contributing to the effort. They were involved in constructing dams on the Chagres River (resulting in the creation of Gatun Lake and Lake Madden), excavating the Culebra Cut (formerly known as the Gaillard Cut), and building locks connecting the Atlantic Ocean to Gatun Lake. The town of Balboa was founded on land made from excavated dirt, creating a new community for those involved in the canal’s construction and maintenance.
While this paints an image of progress for those who support the canal’s construction, the reality for workers was far bleaker. Nearly one-third of construction workers on the Panama Canal died, totalling approximately 25,000 deaths. First-hand accounts, such as those of Rufus Forde, illustrate the hardships workers endured. The most common cause of death during construction was disease, particularly malaria carried by mosquitoes. Forde recalled:
“You turn to work in the morning with a gang of about 125 men, and by eleven o’clock, you will find about 40 men left – all the others have fallen with malaria… they spin all around like a top before they fall, and that gets you so frightened that sometimes you don’t come back after dinner…”
Additionally, constant mudslides buried workers alive, while many others were crushed or killed by shifting materials due to a lack of safety precautions. The torrential rainfall of Panama’s wet season made conditions even worse, as Forde further recounted:
“…you are so cold that your teeth keep rocking together. In the morning, you have to put your clothes on damp – no sun to dry them…”
The extreme conditions in which labourers worked highlight the lack of ethical concern for both local and American workers, even by the standards of the time.
Beyond the harsh environment and labour conditions, racial tensions fuelled an intense atmosphere for workers. Everything was divided along racial lines: white workers were paid in gold dollars, while people of colour received silver wages. Jim Crow-style segregation was strictly enforced, creating a stark racial hierarchy. White Americans oversaw the work of black and indigenous labourers, reinforcing a system of racial supremacy.
A question of ethics is raised regarding the environmental impacts, American imperialism, race, and workforces. Though the Panama Canal provides a useful aid to a modern globalised world, it’s dangerous origins and consequences will not be forgotten.