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Right to water: The State shall combat contagious diseases through, among other things, environmental health and development of potable water availability. Article 118 defines the fundamental obligation of the State to guarantee that its population lives in a healthy environment, free of contamination (pollution), and where air, water, and foodstuffs satisfy the requirements for proper development of human life.

Natural resources: The State shall regulate, supervise, and apply, at the proper time, the measures necessary to guarantee rational use of, and benefit from, land, river and sea life, as well as forests, lands and waters, to avoid their misuse, and to ensure their preservation, renewal, and permanence (art. 120). To fulfil the objectives of the Agrarian Policy, the State shall grant necessary farm lands to rural dwellers and regulate the use of the water (art. 126). Certain lands and waters belong to the State and are of public use and therefore may not be the object of private appropriation (art. 258). Hunting, fishing and exploitation of forests shall be regulated by law, with special care in protecting and conserving the fauna and flora of the country (art. 296). Article 316 assigns certain water resources management functions to the Panama Canal Authority.