Southern frontlines: Latin America and the Caribbean

Vanishing act: Panama’s Guna people forced to move as the sea swallows their island – in pictures

Earlier this year, families from the Indigenous Guna people on the tiny island of Gardi Sugdub became the first to undergo a climate-related relocation by the Panamanian government because of the threat of rising sea levels. Hundreds of residents moved to Isber Yala, a new town built on the mainland. But many fear that the relocation has put their traditions and culture in peril

Photographs by Euan Wallace

Atilio Martinez, a Guna historian and member of the Congress of Guna, stands on a small pier behind his home in Gardi Sugdub. It is high tide, and seawater is flooding the path

Rising tides bring pollution and flooding, leaving the Guna community vulnerable and pressing for additional support for relocation

A flooded side street at high tide. The population of Gardi Sugdub is the first in Panama to undergo a climate-related relocation. About 300 families have been moved to a new community, called Isber Yala, on the mainland

As a barrier against rising sea levels, coral is harvested in large quantities and piled at the seafront. The islanders are aware this practice is damaging to the environment but feel they have no other option to protect their homes

The rising tides bring a wave of plastic waste, which litters the island. For many Guna, moving inland is not just about survival but a way to consolidate their culture in a more stable environment

Hercilia Morales, 95, has lived in Gardi Sugdub her entire life. The land is sacred to her and, despite the flood risk and evacuation of others, she refused to leave her island home in June. ‘I don’t want to leave my land. It’s where I was born,’ she says

Boarded up and graffitied buildings in Gardi Sugdub. The exodus to Isber Yala earlier this year has left many homes and businesses vacant on the island

This sign still hangs in the centre of the community. Many Guna feel that their traditional culture is at risk of slipping away

Boats lie moored amid makeshift wooden piers as the sun sets over Gardi Sugdub

Agusto Boyd, a secretary to the Saila, or religious and political leader, travels between Gardi Sugdub and the mainland

A view of a street in Neuvo Carti (or Isber Yala, as it is locally known), the new community built for the evacuees of Gardi Sugdub. Despite improving the quality of life for some, Isber Yala has numerous shortcomings, not least that it is located inland, meaning the traditional fishing industry has suffered

One of the near-identical houses in Isber Yala. Many Guna fear the shift from their island-based lifestyle will endanger historical and cultural practices forged over 200 years of living directly on the water

Boyd, at his home in Isber Yala,says the community still need support as they adapt and develop in their new location

Lina Morris, 51, in her home in Isber Yala. She describes a traditional practice in which a Saila would sing with the women of Gardi Sugdub every two days. She claims that this is no longer happening in the new community. ‘After we moved here, they don’t do this anymore – maybe once every one or two weeks,’ she says

The Guna are determined to preserve their heritage, despite the threat to it. Here, Arnelio Brenes, head of a Guna student group, defiantly lifts his Kammu – a traditional wooden flute that is a symbol of his culture – as he rallies protesters in Panama City. The Guna people gathered on 12 October to protest the celebration of Columbus Day, as it symbolises the country’s colonial legacy, which has had a devastating impact on their culture and people. ‘The blood that has been spilled will never be forgotten,’ he cries into the microphone

A young Guna man plays a Kammu during the demonstration. The march serves as a reminder of the Guna people’s struggle for autonomy. The Dule (Guna) Revolution (also known as the San Blas Rebellion) in 1925 led to the establishment of the Guna General Congress, which resists forced assimilation and which the Guna believe was vital for their ethnic survival

Two Guna women carry a banner reading ‘Frente Feminino’, the Guna women’s movement, as rain falls on the 12 October march