Recent drought restrictions on the waterway cost the country $1bn. Now, newly appointed environment minister Juan Carlos Navarro must find a way to balance sustainability with economic growth

A queue of cargo ships stretches across the Caribbean Sea, waiting to traverse the Panama Canal towards the Pacific. It is a cloudy June day and the region and the region has spent over a year in drought, the third worst since the canal opened in 1914, forcing the authorities to restrict the number and size of vessels crossing the continent, creating today’s waterborne traffic jam.

The vessel limits are a response to a drop in water levels at Lake Gatun, a water reserve essential for the canal’s operation.