There are no roads through the Darién Gap. This vast impenetrable forest spans the width of the land bridge between South and Central America, but there is almost no way through it: hundreds have lost their lives trying to cross it on foot.

Its size and hostility have shielded it from development for millennia, protecting hundreds of species – from harpy eagles and giant anteaters to jaguars and red-crested tamarins – in one of the most biodiverse places on Earth. But it has also made it incredibly difficult to protect. Looking after 575,000 hectares (1,420,856 acres) of beach, mangrove and rainforest with just 20 rangers often felt impossible, says Segundo Sugasti, the director of Darién national park. Like tropical forests all over the world, it has been steadily shrinking, with at least 15% lost to logging, mining and cattle ranching in two decades.

But in the past three years, Panama has mounted a surprising fightback that could offer hope to the rest of the world’s forests. In 2022, the government took a hard line on deforestation and modernised its park ranger force, partnered with the NGO Global Conservation and deforestation in the park began to fall. That fall accelerated when President José Raúl Mulino took office in July 2024.

In an era when cash-strapped governments are slashing environmental budgets, Jeff Morgan, the director of Global Conservation, which partners with the park, says: “It’s a miracle.”

“I’ve been in this industry for more than 10 years and worked in 22 countries. I’ve never seen anything like this,” he says.