Panama

The Center, once a hotel, lies among the slender palms and warm waters of Isla Colón. You’ll live, study, relax, and enjoy communal meals with your cohort, here. Across the street, you’ll find a beach with waterfront access for swimming and paddleboarding. The laidback hub of Bocas Town is a short taxi ride away, with access to shops, restaurants, and a vibrant culture that is as unique as the mix of people who live here.

• Dorm living in ~4-person bunkrooms
• Indoor/outdoor classroom and study space
• Student lounge space
• Casual al-fresco dining area and on-site cooking staff
• Swimming pool, kayaking, paddleboarding, and snorkeling

Research at the SFS Center for Tropical Island Biodiversity Studies focuses on environmental conservation, tropical ecology and natural resource management approaches in the face of threats like climate change and impacts from increasing tourist activity. Students and faculty engage with Indigenous entrepreneurs, NGOs, fishers, farmers, and business owners as they explore sustainable tourism models and the future of these fragile ecosystems and the surrounding communities.

Our research focuses primarily on the following themes:

• Rainforest and marine biodiversity
• Tourism impacts
• Ecosystem health
• Community livelihoods and perceptions
• Climate change impacts
• Marine protected areas

SFS is an active part of the Bocas del Toro community, where we have been based since the early 90s.

We have built long-term, collaborative relationships in the communities around the Center, and developed our research plans based on the environmental issues they and the surrounding ecosystems face. Throughout the program, students organize a snorkel and swim club for children, work to help support local Indigenous entrepreneurs, and take part in other projects such as urban birding festivals and educational talks. Students attend area events and festivals, frequent the shops, markets, and restaurants of Bocas Town, and compete in a local volleyball match.

At the end of each semester program, we host a Community Research Night where select students will present their research findings to the community. SFS research data is shared with the community, local NGOs, and the Panamanian government.

SFS is committed to providing robust learning and research opportunities for our students. One way we do this is through in-country collaborations with a variety of organizations, community groups, and government agencies. We support our commitment to these groups by sharing our research findings and contributing to shared goals.

Featured Partner: Ciudad del Saber (CDS)
Just a few minutes from Panama’s city center and across from the Panama Canal, the 120 hectares and over 200 buildings of the former Clayton military base have been transformed into the City of Knowledge. Here, entrepreneurs, scientists, thinkers, artists, community leaders, as well as experts from the government, NGOs, and international organizations work together to develop initiatives that trigger social change.

City of Knowledge is an innovative community that imagines, researches, learns, teaches, experiments, invents, creates and inspires; proving that a different Panama and a different world are possible. A private, non-profit Panamanian organization is responsible for leading this project: The City of Knowledge Foundation.