The Capira district west of Panama is a partially mountainous region， forming part of the Panama Canal’s river basin. It was once endowed with lush vegetation， but due to poor agricultural and farming practices， it now lacks vegetation coverage.

Melquiades Jaén， a farmer in the Capira district of Panama， has spent 45 years living and working on his 130 hectares： cultivating the land， taking care of it， grazing cattle there. But has hasn’t been able to hold in his own hands the title deeds for his farm -- until now.

Just like Jaén， around 480 other farmers now own certificates of land ownership for their farms， thanks a project the Panama Canal Authority （ACP） is implementing in collaboration with UNDP. The project aims to ensure legal certainty about land ownership for people in the Panama Canal River Basin， areas that are mostly rural or semi-rural.

“The certificates of ownership are the guarantee we producers have that we are the absolute owners of our land that we have been working on for so many years. This desire has been expressed by every producer， and by every farmer， to be the legitimate owner of the land on which we toil，” Jaén said.

Upon completion of the project， it is hoped that the population benefiting from the initiative will recognize the economic value of the environmental and biodiversity protection programs being introduced. The project is also expected to help identify opportunities for expert climate-change assistance， as well as development policies promoting the sustainable use of the region’s natural resources.