Gardi Sugdub: A Community Facing the Brunt of Climate Change

“If the island sinks, I will sink with it,” Delfino Davies says, his smile unwavering. There’s a moment of silence, broken only by the swoosh of his broom across the small museum floor, which documents the life of his community, the Guna, in Panama.

“Before, you could hear children shouting, music everywhere, neighbors arguing,” he continues, “but now all the sounds have gone.” Davies’ community, situated on the tiny island of Gardi Sugdub, is the first in Panama to face relocation because of climate change.

The Panamanian government has deemed the Guna inhabitants to be at “imminent risk” from rising sea levels, expected to render the island uninhabitable by 2050, according to scientific assessments.

The Relocation of a Community

In June of last year, most residents of Gardi Sugdub abandoned the crowded, wooden and tin homes for neatly constructed prefabricated houses on the mainland. The relocation has been hailed by some as a model for addressing similar threats worldwide, yet it has also divided the community.

“My father, my brother, my sisters-in-law and my friends are gone,” Davies states. “Sometimes the children whose families have stayed cry, wondering where their friends have gone.”

Approximately 1,000 people relocated, leaving behind about 100 others, some because of limited space in the new settlement, others because they did not fully believe climate change posed a threat or simply preferred to stay.

The Guna Legacy

The Guna have inhabited Gardi Sugdub since the 19th century and have earlier histories on other islands in the archipelago. They fled from the mainland to escape Spanish conquistadors, epidemics, and conflicts with other indigenous groups.

The Guna are renowned for their intricately decorated clothes, called “molas,” which serve both as fashion and cultural expressions.

Steve Paton, a scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, warns that it is “almost a certainty” that most, if not all, islands in this archipelago will be submerged by the end of the century.

Climate Change and Coastal Communities

As global temperatures rise, glaciers and ice sheets melt, and seawater expands, leading to a rise in sea levels. This phenomenon threatens the lives of hundreds of millions of people living in coastal areas worldwide.

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On Gardi Sugdub, waves during the rainy season now wash into homes, sometimes rising to the levels where families sleep, beneath hammocks.

Scientist Paton believes that the island will likely be uninhabitable by 2050, based on current and projected rates of sea level rise. However, discussions about relocation began over a decade ago, driven more by