The Central American Water Tribunal, a regional panel created by non-governmental organizations, last month made non-binding rulings on issues ranging from a Honduran mine’s release of cyanide to a Costa Rican hotel project’s thirst for water. The nine-member tribunal, organized at a regional meeting here of non-governmental groups in 1998, conducts unofficial proceedings to spotlight Central American water-pollution and water-supply disputes. Though the region’s governments did not take part in the panel’s creation, they present arguments in its cases and on some occasions have followed its recommendations. Panel members, meanwhile, are drawn from a range of backgrounds. This year, for instance, they include a Costa Rican artist, a Panamanian economist, a former UN official from El Salvador and a... [Log in to read more]