Tag Archive for: Environment

,

More than 100 organizations are calling on EITI to publish environmental information

On the initiative of the Peruvian organization ‘Law, Environment and Natural Resources’, on February 25, a letter was presented to the Board of Directors for the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), demanding the publication of environmental information. More than 100 organizations in Latin America (including FUNDEPS), signed a letter asking the members of this initiative to make transparency in environmental information mandatory.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

The EITI standard for transparency in extractive activities, seeks to disseminate information on the oil, gas and mining industry. It requires the publication of information along the value chain of the extractive industry, from the point of extraction, to the way in which revenues continue on their way to the government; even how they benefit the general public. This includes how licenses are adjudicated and registered, who are the actual beneficiaries of those operations, what are the legal and fiscal provisions, how much is produced, how much is paid, how are those revenues distributed, and what is the contribution to the economy, including employment.

It is a multilateral initiative to which governments adhere voluntarily, and ensuring the participation of civil society and companies in the extractive sector.

However, and despite the imprint of this initiative, the standard currently lacks requirements on the obligation to publish information related to the costs and environmental impacts of extractive activity. It is necessary to have information, for example, on the amount of water that a mining project consumes, fines paid by corporations for environmental violations, information on environmental impact assessments, mitigation plans, among others. These data are crucial to avoid irreversible damage to the environment and the violation of the rights of those affected by extractive activity.

During the week of February 25, the EITI Board will meet in Kiev, Ukraine; to review the provisions of the current standard. Civil society organizations in Latin America sent a letter demanding that after the review process new guidelines be incorporated to ensure that:

  • Information is disseminated at the project level, in relation to all social and environmental assessments, showing the true impact of extractive activity on ecosystems and communities.

  • Environmental and social information about payments and expenses is disclosed, including impact studies, acquired rights, licenses, fines, compensations and remediation.
  • Information on all environmental licenses and authorizations, disaggregated by company and project, is disclosed. Including how the authorities monitor environmental commitments and information.


Argentina has officially joined EITI on February 27, 2019. To strengthen the standard with the demands made by civil society, would result in an improvement on the generation and publication of environmental information in our country.

More information

Sitio WEB de EITI

Carta enviada al Directorio de EITI

Environmental Reporting: Key to Transparency

Contact

Agustina Palencia, agustinapalencia@fundeps.org

 

,

Bajo Grande again in environmental and health emergency

The Municipality of Córdoba once again extended the environmental and sanitary emergency in the Wastewater Treatment Plant (E.D.A.R.) of Bajo Grande and in the downstream areas. It did so through Decree No. 3413 and the measure governs for 180 days. Neighboring Chacras de la Merced claim that the actions committed are not being met.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

On November 1, Mayor Ramón J. Mestre signed Decree 3413, which reinstates this part of the city of Córdoba in a state of environmental and sanitary emergency, by virtue of the status of the Bajo Grande plant.

The measure is in force for a period of 180 days, from the expiration of the terms of Decree N ° 15 dated January 12, 2018 (which extended the environmental and health emergency prepared in April 2017). Therefore, the deadline for the different departments of the Municipality to carry out all the actions contemplated in the Mitigation Plan would have ended last November.

This new emergency declaration recognizes the complex situation due to the contamination of the Suquía River, which continues to receive sewage effluents with minimal treatment or directly without treatment. For this reason, and the same determination had begun to take the municipality at least since 2014.

The decision was made after a court ruling that ordered the municipality and the province to implement a series of measures to mitigate the effects of pollution produced by the plant on the population, particularly in the Suquía and surrounding areas. Then, the measure was extended by Decrees No. 1220/15, 3745/15, 1292/2017, 015/18, and now by Decree No. 3413 in order to continue the mitigation plan for environmental and health effects. proposed for the Bajo Grande plant, located in the Chacras de la Merced neighborhood.

On the other hand, work continues on the expansion of the plant that according to the information provided by the Province once completed will benefit some 960 thousand Cordoban. These works would conclude in the second half of the year 2019.

Information requests: no satisfactory answers

In the month of March, and within the framework of the emergency decreed by the municipal government, together with Las Omas, civil association of neighbors of the Chacras de las Merced district, we made several presentations before the Secretariat of Government, Citizen Participation and Social Development, the General Secretariat, the Public Services Secretariat, the Ministry of Health and the Secretariat of Planning and Infrastructure of the Municipality of Córdoba. The orders requested information about the progress of the mitigation plan in Bajo Grande and downstream areas. Given the lack of response from the municipal administration, we present a prompt dispatch in the month of June.

The Ministry of Health was the only division that answered, but it did so incompletely and with information that contradicts what was reported by the people from the plant. While the municipality maintains that in the health centers of the area there is no shortage of stock and supplies and that human resources are sufficient to respond to the problems and affections of the neighborhood, the neighbors complain that “there are never enough medicines, ambulances do not want to enter the neighborhood because of the state of the roads and that there is only one doctor in the area who can not cope. In addition, the neighborhood health center only attends in the morning and when the doctor does not go, there is no replacement. ”

As reported by the Municipality of Córdoba, cases of Acute Diarrheal Disease (EDA) decreased between 2012 and 2017. However, in the Health Center No. 84 of the Chacras de la Merced District, in 2017 the cases of diarrhea increased with respect to 2015 and 2016, which shows that diseases that could be the product of water pollution persist and continue to affect the community.

Regarding this, Alida Weht, president of Las Omas, states that “the conditions did not diminish, what happens is that due to the large number of cases there are, people begin to naturalize them and stop consulting the health centers of the sector, for the lack of response and medicines for the treatment of these diseases. ”

The sanitary actions contemplated in the Mitigation Plan are: continue with the weekly evaluations of tracer pathologies (diarrhea, hepatitis, conjunctivitis, meningoencephalitis, HUS and others); ensure the provision of medicines and nursing supplies in a timely and sufficient manner; guarantee the availability of human resources for the care of patients in the affected area, with accompaniment and participation of the community; continue with networking with other nearby Health Centers and Institutions, among others.

However, Alida Weht, stated that there are currently numerous cases of gastroenteritis, dermatitis, conjunctivitis, skin and eye irritation, respiratory diseases and that the actions committed in the mitigation plan would not be fulfilled. “They are diseases typical of the area, having pneumonia every year is a normality,” he adds.

The situation of vulnerability that lives in the community located next to the purification station is, today, unsustainable and degrading. Similarly, the malfunction of the plant has persisted for years, even the employees of the plant have acknowledged that they have reached almost 100% of the untreated liquids in the Suquía River.

From FUNDEPS we are concerned about the continuity of a situation of environmental degradation and violation of human rights. As Juan Carballo, Executive Director of FUNDEPS, expresses, “the situation is very worrying: a context of serious and continuous environmental impacts would require minimum of the authorities to report on the situation permanently. That does not happen at present; an expansion of the plant without adequate citizen participation, a deficient operation but without certain data and unanswered information requests further aggravate the situation “.

The situation is even more worrisome, if we take into account that there are eight municipal officials charged by the federal justice for the situation of the Suquía River, there could be evidence that the contamination has reached the mouth of the Rio Primero in the Laguna de Mar Chiquita.

This demonstrates the failure of the mitigation plans assumed each time the environmental emergency has been decreed since 2014. It has also been clear that the actions implemented have not been sufficient to mitigate the effects of the contamination of the Suquía River; and the situation of lack of protection suffered by the people of the Chacras de la Merced neighborhood.

We renew once again the claim for a definitive solution to the pollution of the Suquía River and, especially, for the guarantee of the rights of those who have been and continue to be affected.

More information:

https://eldoce.tv/sociedad/de-rio-cloaca-preocupa-la-contaminacion-del-suquia-planta-bajo-grande-chacras-de-la-merced-municipalidad-de-cordoba_68471

Contact:

María Pérez Alsina – mariaperezalsina@fundeps.org

Agustina Palencia – agustinapalencia@fundeps.org

, , , , ,

Report on the human rights situation in Argentina before the IACHR

On October 30, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) published a communiqué inviting civil society organizations and other interested social actors of the Organization of American States (OAS) to send information on the situation. of human rights in the region. This information will be used for the preparation of chapter IV A of the annual report of the IACHR corresponding to the year 2018 that will be presented to the General Assembly of the OAS.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

Descargar Documento / Download File
, , , , ,

We present a report on the human rights situation in Argentina before the IACHR

On October 30, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) published a communiqué inviting civil society organizations and other interested social actors of the Organization of American States (OAS) to send information on the situation. of human rights in the region. This information will be used for the preparation of chapter IV A of the annual report of the IACHR corresponding to the year 2018 that will be presented to the General Assembly of the OAS.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

Each year, the Commission produces an annual report on the human rights situation in the region, reflecting the trends, challenges, advances and good practices that have occurred in the area of ​​human rights in the OAS member states during the year.

For the Annual Report of 2018, the Commission will emphasize the following axes: Democratic Institutionalization, Institutionality in Human Rights, Access to Justice, Citizen Security and Right to the Environment.

Together with lawyers and lawyers from the Argentine Northwest on Human Rights and Social Studies (ANDHES) we present a report on these axes in the areas we work on:

Institutionality in human rights

1. Hierarchical reduction of National Ministries of Environment, Culture, Health, Labor and Modernization and Communication
2. National Budget 2019
3. Comprehensive Sexual Education Law in danger

Access to justice

1. Preoccupation with the draft bill on collective processes
2. Access to the right to abortion in Argentina – Delay of justice in the case of Portal de Belén (by non-punishable abortion protocol in the province of Córdoba)
3. Access to justice for the elderly

Citizen security

1. Institutional Violence in Tucumán
2. Absence of mechanisms to prevent torture in Tucumán

Right to the Environment

1. Affectations to the right to health caused by the use of agrochemicals
2. Concern over project to amend the seed law
3. Failure to comply with the consultation and free, prior and informed consent of provincial law No. 5,915 to the detriment of the environment and the right to life and territory of indigenous communities in Jujuy.
4. Chinchillas Mining Project and the Pozuelos Lagoon in Jujuy
5. The indigenous community of Solco Yampa and the indiscriminate felling of trees in the province of Tucumán
6. Murder of Javier Chocobar in Tucumán

The cases presented in this report give an account of a general situation of regression of the fulfillment of human rights by the Argentine State. The exposed situations of vulnerability are particularly worrisome because they are part of a regional socio-political crisis context. In order to avoid the impact of cuts, the noncompliance with international standards and the promotion of public policies that do not attack the roots of structural inequality impact fully on the populations that are already in a situation of vulnerability, we ask the IACHR to publicly express concern about the state of compliance with human rights in the country.

More information

Contact

Mayca Balaguer, maycabalaguer@fundeps.org

,

Preliminary observations of the Special Rapporteur on the Law to food

In the period that extended from September 12 to 21 of this year, our country had the visit of the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations, Hilal Elver, with the objective of evaluating the realization of the right to food in the country, to subsequently submit a final report to the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2019.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

The rapporteur, in her preliminary observations, emphasized:

  • Current crisis and its impact on the right to food: The Argentina faces a situation of economic and financial crisis, with
    great impact on the right to food of the population. In this At the moment, Argentina must use the maximum of its resources available to ensure the full realization of rights humans.
  • Interrelation of the right to food with other rights human rights: All human rights are interrelated, and the right to food can not be achieved without the right to a adequate housing, education, health for all and all included migrants, indigenous peoples, peasants, children and adults greater.
  • Reception of the right to food in the order Argentine legal system: Argentina, as a State party to the Pact International of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, has the obligation to respect, protect and guarantee the right to feeding. It is also part of other international treaties fundamental principles on human rights, and they all include provisions related to the right to food adequate There is no explicit constitutional protection of the right to food at the national level and, therefore, the issues related to the right to food so integral and multidimensional. For all these reasons, it highlights the need for comprehensive framework law, with guidelines to promote and implement this right that includes food sovereignty for all.
  • Lack of update on statistical data: Argentina does not has up-to-date official data and other statistical materials that can provide reliable data on hunger and poverty in the last almost 10 years. The latest survey on food and nutrition habits was carried out in 2004-2005, and the latest survey of agricultural sector in 2002, which is not acceptable from the point of view to understand the needs and limitations of related policies with food security.
  • Food consumption in Argentina and its relationship with NCDs: El consumption in the country of fruit and vegetables is low, with only 6% of the population that consumes the amount of fruits and vegetables recommended by the WHO Food Guide. It is the country of the region that consumes the largest number of ultra-processed products and leads the consumption of soda The country includes the highest rates of obesity between children and adults. Currently, 40% of the children and adolescents and 60% of adults are overweight, and 7.3% of Children under the age of five are obese, it is the most important Elevated Childhood Obesity in Latin America It is crucial that nutrition policies are comprehensive, address all forms of malnutrition and have adequate financial support.
  • Marketing and regulation techniques. Although Argentina has with regulations on the content of advertising, have not been applied in an effective way to address the problems of obesity and poor nutrition. There are no specific rules in relation with advertising of food and drinks addressed to children, nor restrictions in relation to nutritional criteria.
  • Breastfeeding and marketing of milk formulas: the rapporteur mentions misleading advertising and growing concern about the health impacts of breast milk substitutes. Insists in the control of advertising and the implementation of strategies for promote and encourage breastfeeding, particularly during the first six months of life.
  • Family Farming: To achieve the objective of a diet adequate and healthy, considers it necessary to strengthen the family farming programs to support and protect this sector of crucial importance. Efforts should be made to promote family farming as a priority. It is the only way to achieve a balance between current industrial agriculture and the development of agroecological production systems. The achievement of this balance would be the only way to achieve a sustainable and just solution for the Argentine people.
  • School Dining Rooms: The current economic crisis seems to have a negative impact on the quality of the food in the different school canteens for the increase in prices. These dining rooms are essential for children and should be strengthened further to ensure they have access to a adequate nutrition and food.
  • Social Programs: Your concern is based on the fact that some of the social benefits exclude certain marginalized groups and disadvantaged and that these programs are not sufficient for the changing economic context.
  • Environment: Suggests that a law or program be implemented to reduce the use of pesticides in agricultural production. In relation to the Protection of Forests, the Organization of the United Nations for Agriculture and Food ranked Argentina among the countries that had lost more forests between 2010 and 2015. Warns that deforestation continues in areas where it is prohibited, and that the national government has shown a lack of interest considerable in applying the law, which is reflected in the lack of funds necessary to finance  conservation policies.
  • Use of Pesticides and Breastfeeding: The widespread use of pesticides with such frequency and intensity has generated concern regarding the exposure of women of reproductive age and of pregnant women who, in turn, can expose children to through breastfeeding. The National Institute of Industrial Technology (INTI) conducted a study of mothers who gave birth in hospitals of the metropolitan area of ​​Buenos Aires. The study determined that milk of these mothers contained levels of pesticides that were 15% more higher than the levels considered safe by law.

More information:

Preliminary Observations Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Hilal Ever, on her mission to the Argentina 12-21 September 2018

Author

Andrea Melissa Hill

Contact:

Agustina Mozzoni, agustinamozzoni@fundeps.org

 

, ,

Escazú Agreement: An opportunity to guarantee the application of Principle 10 in LAC

“Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean” was approved in Escazú, Costa Rica, on March 4, 2018, officially opens to the signature of the 33 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. It requires that 11 countries sign and ratify it to enter into force.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

On the day of the date, the Escazú Agreement is opened for signature at the 73rd General Assembly of the United Nations, in New York. The agreement adopted by 24 countries of the region on March 4, will be open for signature by the 33 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) until September 26, 2020 and will need the ratification of 11 countries to enter into force.

The treaty seeks to guarantee the full and effective application of Principle 10, embodied in the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development of 1992, in Latin America and the Caribbean. For its part, Principle 10 seeks to ensure that everyone has access to information, participates in decision-making and accesses justice in environmental matters, in order to guarantee the right to a healthy and sustainable environment of present generations and future.

The importance of the Escazú Agreement is that it is the first of its kind in the world that includes specific binding provisions for the protection of individuals, groups and organizations that promote and defend human rights in environmental matters. Likewise, it is the only binding treaty issued by the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio + 20).

In particular, for Argentina, which is characterized by having the highest deforestation rates in the world, as well as the lack of access to environmental information and the lack of participatory public policies, the entry into force of this binding regional agreement will allow the strengthening of access rights in environmental matters.

In the same sense, it will allow preventing the environmental costs of the decisions that have to do with the economic development and to improve the management of the multiple socio-environmental conflicts existing in the territory.

For these reasons, we present a letter to the former Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development and another to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship, urging the signature and adhesion of the Argentine government to the Escazú Agreement.

Also, through a press release, UN human rights experts urge the States in Latin America and the Caribbean to sign and ratify, as soon as possible, a pioneering environmental treaty for the region.

The experts added that States should adopt, in their strategies to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals, an approach that encompasses society as a whole. They also noted that an essential aspect of States’ international human rights obligations is to ensure the protection, respect and support of individuals who raise concerns about the negative impact on human rights, including in the context of the development of human rights. projects that involve companies

“By signing and promptly ratifying this innovative treaty, the Latin American and Caribbean States will reinforce their firm commitment to environmental protection and human rights, and above all, they will send an unequivocal message in favor of multilateralism, solidarity, equality and regional integration, while promoting collaboration with other regions, “they said.

We believe that the entry into force of the regional agreement will be a fundamental step towards achieving a true environmental democracy. Therefore, we urge Argentina and other countries of Latin America and the Caribbean to sign and ratify, as soon as possible, this historic treaty for the region.

 

More information

Contact

María Pérez Alsina – mariaperezalsina@fundeps.org

Agustina Palencia – agustinapalencia@fundeps.org

,

Situation status of the “Villa Carlos Paz Environmental Center”

This publication presents an analysis of the Urban Solid Waste Management project implemented for the town of Villa Carlos Paz.

Descargar Documento / Download File
, ,

Bajo Grande and Jerónimo de la Gente: A prize that seeks to cover a problem of years?

On April 6, the award ‘Jerónimo de la Gente’ was presented in the city of Córdoba and it was the Civil Association ‘Las Omas’, who won the first place after the vote. The recognition seeks to distinguish a citizen, citizen, or grouping of citizenship; whose work in Córdoba seeks in some way to address social problems.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

Las Omas, an organization established in the Chacras de la Merced neighborhood, since 2011 has been dedicated to the assistance of neighbors living in poverty and violence. At the same time, its president, Alida Weht, has been the one who has taken the bastion of the fight against pollution caused by the malfunction of the Sewage Treatment Plant of Córdoba.

The prize that Las Omas received is a distinction for their tireless work to improve the situation of women in the neighborhood, but little has been mentioned in the media about their immense work, to improve and protect the environment that surrounds them. Mayor Mestre has recognized Las Omas on the one hand, but on the other, he has not done anything to help them end the problems derived from pollution.

A few weeks ago, it became known that the Municipality of Córdoba admitted that the plant is not in perfect condition and that it is operating at 60%. Likewise, Daniel Bardagi, Director of Sanitary and Gas Networks, promised that in the next few days the plant would be fully operational.

This position of the Municipality collides directly with what is expressed by the employees who are working in the WWTP, and who have declared that the plant under no circumstances is able to operate at 100%. In addition, they have declared that the liquid that enters the station is not treated in any way and the conditions in which it enters are the same that it has when it is dumped into the Suquía River.

These comings and goings between the Municipality and employees of the plant, are not new and do nothing but dilate a situation that has long been unsustainable. The lack of responsibility of the municipal government and the desire to hide a reality that is visible so many years ago, has become a community of people who today are in a situation of extreme vulnerability.

Similarly, the problem of pollution is not only limited to the area of ​​the city of Córdoba. It has been verified that the unloadings in crude have arrived at least and safely to Capilla de los Remedios. Moreover, the samples taken and evaluated by the National University of Córdoba (UNC) show that the bacteria and coliforms present in the water 36 km from Bajo Grande, are in practically the same amounts and concentration as when they leave plant. Also, there may be evidence that contamination has reached the mouth of the Primero River in the Laguna de Mar Chiquita.

Derived from this contamination, neighbors of Chacras must face every day a myriad of problems, most of which are related to health (skin, respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases). Similarly, the environment vitiated by the smell of cloacal water overturned raw, makes life more difficult in that place.

From the Municipality of Córdoba has been announced that in the coming days and weeks will be bidding three refurbishment works in the plant for almost 300 million pesos. These spare parts correspond to the failure of the mitigation plans assumed each year by the successive municipal administrations. According to Federico Kopta, of the Córdoba Environmental Forum, these spare parts and the expansion of the plant that is in progress will not be able to reverse or mitigate the current contamination situation, as long as the necessary controls on the sewage network are not carried out.

After years of claims, we have again asked the authorities to recognize the problem and take action on the matter. The situation of vulnerability that lives in the community located next to the purification station is, today, unsustainable and degrading. The Jerónimo de la Gente award, has managed to recognize the tireless work of Las Omas, but has not been able to cover a problem that they must face each and every one of their days. After this award, there should be a commitment of officials to families in that area and the environment of all inhabitants of the province of Cordoba.

Sources

Contact

María Pérez Alsina – mariaperezalsina@fundeps.org

Agustina Palencia – agustinapalencia@fundeps.org

,

We participate in the First Latin American Workshop on Litigation Strategies on Climate Change and Human Rights

From July 11 to 13, the First Latin American Workshop on Litigation Strategies on Climate Change and Human Rights was held in Bogotá, Colombia. The workshop was jointly organized by the Law, Justice and Society Studies Center (Dejusticia) and the Sabin Center on Climate Change Law at Columbia University.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

The event brought together 21 activists and lawyers from Latin America who work on environmental issues and human rights with the purpose of training them on the new and innovative strategies of climate litigation in the world.

In this sense, the three main objectives of the workshop were:
– Analyze the theoretical and legal bases that have been used in different types of climate litigation in different parts of the world.
– Develop specific strategies that the participants can adapt to their own countries and organizations.
– Establish a collaborative network between activists and organizations interested in studying and promoting strategic litigation on climate change in the region.

During the workshop, various presentations were presented on the importance of climate justice, the types of existing climate litigation, legal principles and doctrines, legal precedents, climate litigation strategies, as well as the climate litigation challenges related to jurisdiction, attribution factor, causality, quantification of damages, among others.

Likewise, the new tendencies in the matter of climate litigation were presented, taking as initial kick-off the first guardianship on climate change and future generations of Latin America granted by the Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia to 25 boys, girls
and young people, supported by Dejusticia.

More information:

https://www.dejusticia.org/tutela-cambio-climatico-colombia/
http://climatecasechart.com/

Contacto:
María Pérez Alsina –mariaperezalsina@fundeps.org

, ,

Concern and uncertainty regarding the progress of the works of the Villa Carlos Paz Environmental Center

The works of the Environmental Center of Villa Carlos Paz show an advance of 90% and estimate that in 30 days it will be in operation. Meanwhile, the concern of the residents of Malagueño continues asking for concrete measures to make effective the differentiated collection of waste as well as awareness campaigns.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

The project “Environmental Center of Villa Carlos Paz” is being developed in a municipal area located near the National Route 20, which links it with the city of Córdoba, where the current open-air dump is currently operating. It will process the garbage of more than 100.00 inhabitants of the region that includes Villa Carlos Paz and neighboring localities (Villa Rio Icho Cruz, Mayu Sumaj, Cuesta Blanca, Tala Huasi, Cabalango and Malagueño).

In Centro Ambiental, it is integrated by three works: a sanitary landfill for the disposal of solid urban waste, a separation and treatment plant for leachates (toxic residual waste liquid) and the closure of the existing open-air dump for more than 50 years. years.

The works with a total investment of 188,403,896 pesos are being financed through the Environmental Management Program of Tourist Municipalities, executed by the Ministry of Tourism of the Nation with funds from the IDB (Inter-American Development Bank) and the National State.

The construction of the Environmental Center began in mid-2017 and according to Horacio Pedrone, Secretary of Environmental Urban Development of the Municipality of Carlos Paz: “We think that by the second half of this year, we will have the new Environmental Treatment Center in operation of urban solid waste “.

While the works are advancing rapidly and the authorities of Carlos Paz announce that at the end of August the differentiated waste collection will begin in the city, in charge of the company Cotreco, in Malagueño there is uncertainty and concern.

In this regard, it is stated that although the Municipality of Carlos Paz has announced communication and awareness campaigns to the community on how to proceed when separating and collecting garbage, no concrete measures have yet been observed. The Malagueño authorities for their part say nothing about it, and taking into account that the Environmental Center will be inaugurated soon, the residents of Villa San Nicolás (Malagueño) fear that the place will become a new landfill.

The project foresees that once the construction of the Environmental Center is completed, the definitive closure of the existing open-air dump would begin, solving a problem that takes 58 years. Until recently, even the fire sources in the same one continued, affecting the smoke and the toxic gases emanating from the landfill to the San Nicolás neighborhood and other neighborhoods near the highway.

In addition, during the last months of December and January, the landfill was burning for more than 80 days, and therefore self-appointed neighbors organized protests calling for an environmental emergency to be declared as a result of the toxicity generated by the smoke from the burning garbage.

In short, the environmental damage affects the air that neighbors breathe, and due to the rains – which increase during the summer and tourist seasons – the ashes end in the San Roque dam that supplies water to 70% of the city ​​of Córdoba.

From FUNDEPS we follow this process and accompany the community of Villa San Nicolás to ensure respect for their rights to a healthy environment, health and access to information and citizen participation. Likewise, and as we have been saying for some time, we consider questionable the location of the Environmental Center next to the La Calera Defense Nature Reserve, and meters from San Roque Lake in areas that may have a higher filtration or percolation propensity towards the Napa of water.

More information

http://www.eldiariodecarlospaz.com.ar/sociedad/2018/6/14/en-agosto-comenzaria-la-recoleccion-diferenciada-de-residuos-52986.html

http://www.eldiariodecarlospaz.com.ar/sociedad/2018/5/15/asi-es-el-centro-ambiental-donde-se-procesara-la-basura-de-punilla-51764.html

https://lmdiario.com.ar/noticia/43262/malagueno-denuncian-problemas-respiratorios-por-los-incendios-del-basural

Contact

María Pérez Alsina – mariaperezalsina@fundeps.org

Gonzalo Roza – gon.roza@fundeps.org

,

Public hearing: “Alternative to National Route N ° 38: Costa Azul Bridge – La Cumbre – Costa Azul Section – Cosquín”.

We present a document that addresses the legal and socio-environmental foundations related to the realization of the mountain motorway. Motivated by the great concern in the design, promotion and execution of public policies related to the protection of the right to a healthy and balanced environment, commenting on the legality and convenience of the project “Alternative to National Route N ° 38: Costa Azul Bridge- The Summit – Costa Azul Section – Cosquín “.

Descargar Documento / Download File
, ,

#WeWantToBreathe: A campaign against pollution in the Suquía River

Neighbors and neighbors of Capilla de los Remedios join the claims for contamination of the Suquía River due to the poor functioning of the Sewage Treatment Plant (WWTP). The campaign #QueremosRespirar reflects the desperate request of the inhabitants who seek that this situation be reversed immediately.

The reclamation of the neighborhood grouping, adds to the historical protest that the families of the district Chacras de la Merced have taken ahead to stop the indiscriminate contamination of the river.

On Monday, April 9, the inhabitants of Capilla de los Remedios will demonstrate in front of the Municipality of the City of Córdoba, to demand from the mayor the urgent taking of measures. Pedro Frank, a neighbor and one of the leaders of the campaign, spoke about the unsustainable nature of living around the river. Sickening odors, gastrointestinal and respiratory problems; are some of the consequences that could be attributed to pollution (an image very similar to what the neighbors describe in the Chacras de la Merced neighborhood). Pedro, said that they have been receptive to meet both the Municipal Government and the Provincial. From both sides have responded that contamination is impossible to relate directly to the plant, since it works in perfect conditions. However, during 2017, employees of EDAR were blunt when they said that the plant is under-supplied, defective and that it works less than 20%. They also mentioned that the liquid is not treated and that during the 24 hours a day it is dumped in the river.
As a result of this, the position of the government authorities, who seem not to want to see what is in front of their eyes and the eyes of all citizens, becomes incomprehensible.

This situation, which dates back to the late 1980s and to which FUNDEPS has referred on numerous occasions, seems to have no end. The escalation of pollution caused by a plant in defective conditions, has had a direct impact on the main river of the Province and has its outlet in the Laguna de Mar Chiquita. On the banks of this river settle numerous localities that today begin to see the effects of years and years of state negligence. Also, it is of special relevance to highlight the main role and responsibility of the Provincial and Municipal governments to mitigate and / or definitively remedy this situation.

What happens is public knowledge, and government authorities have not reacted in a timely manner to avoid what is happening now. At the legal level, numerous cases have been initiated and have sentences in favor of the residents of Chacras de la Merced, forcing the State to reverse the damage. After numerous requests for execution of sentence, the inaction of the Municipality is evident in the environmental risk of these days. Similarly, since 2014 the environmental and sanitary emergency has been consistently declared in the Bajo Grande WWTP and in the area located downstream, including the Chacras neighborhood, and there have been no concrete measures demonstrating the government’s willingness to assist those they are affected From FUNDEPS, we recently requested information to know the status of the latest decree declaring the health emergency. According to the testimonies of the neighbors of Chacras de la Merced, little and nothing has been done to address the situation.

Both the neighbors of Chacras de la Merced and of Capilla de los Remedios are in a situation of complete violation of their rights. We renew again the claim for a definitive solution to the pollution of the Suquía River and especially for the guarantee of the rights of those who have been affected. #We want to Breathe.

 

More information:

They will protest in front of the Municipality of Córdoba for the contamination of the Suquía
Chapel of the Remedies: neighbors denounce pollution
In Capilla de los Remedios, the river is as polluted as a sewer

Information requests for the Mitigation Plan of the Bajo Grande plant

Author:
Agustina Palencia
Contact:
María Pérez Alsina – mariaperezalsina@fundeps.org
Agustina Palencia – agustinapalencia@fundeps.org