Tag Archive for: Principle 10

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We exchanged about learnings in Environmental Justice

Summoned by the Legal Empowerment Network, numerous NGOs from Latin America participated in a meeting in the city of Santiago de Chile.

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.

During the first week of April, an event was held that sought to exchange learning on Access to Environmental Justice issues. Together with civil society organizations from Latin America, we participated in conferences that addressed issues related to community empowerment, access to environmental information, public participation, and environmental justice.

From the work experience of the organizations, we talked about the problems that the entire continent is going through in the topics worked on, as well as the various strategies of approach and incidence. Even with the different realities observed, the common pattern that crosses the Latin American States regarding the barriers to access to information, public participation and environmental justice was glimpsed; as well as the threats that environmental defenders must face.

Members of ECLAC and those in charge of implementing the Escazú Agreement participated in one of the sessions. They shared their views on the treaty and possible regulations ahead of the first Conference of the Parties.

Throughout the conference, the different contributions and experiences were collected to guide the joint work of those who make up the Legal Empowerment Network. Undoubtedly, a significant experience in pursuit of guaranteeing access to environmental justice throughout the region.

Contact

Juan Bautista López, juanbautistalopez@fundeps.org

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The demands and challenges in accessing public environmental information

During the months of October and November, together with the participation of professionals and specialists in On the matter, three synchronous virtual meetings were held where different points related to access to public environmental information and the tools provided by the Escazú Agreement were addressed. Having finished and culminated the project, thanks to the information provided by the participants, the exchanges and debates that took place, we made a series of reflections and questions about the effective fulfillment and exercise of this right.

“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 first of the three workshops featured a lecture by María Laura Foradori, lawyer and specialist in Environmental Education, the second with Ana Di Pangracio, lawyer and Executive Director of Farn, and the third, eminently practical, was directed and accompanied by members from the Fundeps team.

During the meetings, by virtue of the expressions and comments that were given, it was possible to notice a great unsatisfied demand from groups of people and civil society organizations that seek to access information associated with numerous environmental problems. Also, indirectly, there is an escalation in socio-environmental conflict, a growing awareness in relation to the importance of caring for the environment and the need to get involved in its protection.

Those demands, in part, are consolidated from the ignorance of the tools and instruments that allow access to public information in general, and environmental information in particular. On the other hand, they can also originate from disbelief in institutional functioning, based on experiences with a high degree of non-compliance when receiving responses. In addition, the need to resort most of the time to legal claims has repercussions on the will of the citizenry, thereby delegitimizing the institutional design that guarantees access to environmental information.

Faced with this scenario, we believe that it is necessary to make institutional adjustments through public policies that make known and bring the tools for access to environmental information to the public. Likewise, it is imperative that improvements be made to ensure that the State complies with its obligation to provide responses.

To make this possible, we propose a series of recommendations and suggestions to the authorities, including updating the Law on Access to Public Information in the province of Córdoba, the creation of an Agency or Office with competence in the matter, improvements in the information request mechanisms so that they are easy to understand and access for citizens, improvement in the response rate to requests for information that are made, training authorities on access to public information as a human right and the implementation of specialized agencies and entities in environmental matters for the monitoring and inspection of all requests for information.

In turn, it is necessary to adapt the regulations for minimum environmental budgets in terms of access to information to the standards of the Escazú Agreement since this reaffirms and reinforces the rights of people to access and participate in environmental matters, environmental democracy and commits the international responsibility of the Argentine State in the event of any breaches.

Finally, we must also highlight the fundamental role assumed by organized civil society and citizens in the exercise of this right. On the one hand, in continuing to provide tools and get involved in exercising this right responsibly and, at the same time, offering alternative solutions to the authorities so that they guarantee the rights contemplated in the Escazú Agreement.

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Autor

Ananda Lavayén

Contact

Juan Bautista López, juanbautistalopez@fundeps.org

 

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Workshop: How to access public environmental information?

Aimed at organizations, assemblies, associations and interested people in general, on Friday, October 15 and 29 at 4:00 p.m. we will carry out two virtual meetings, which will aim to provide theoretical and practical tools on access to public environmental information.

“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 first workshop will have as main speaker Laura Foradori, lawyer, researcher, specialist in Environmental Education and university professor. It will focus on the importance of access to public environmental information, its regulatory framework and the obligations of the State. In addition, there will be a space for dialogue and exchange of experiences with the people present.

The second workshop will have as speaker Ana Di Pangracio, lawyer, Counselor of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Deputy Executive Director of the Environment and Natural Resources Foundation (FARN). The talk will address the Escazú Agreement and the tools it provides to guarantee the right of access to public information as a fundamental component of an environmentally committed citizenry.

Throughout the cycle, practical activities will be carried out and tools will be provided to make requests for access to information on environmental matters, with subsequent support from Fundeps.

Registration is free and free through this form and you can participate in the full cycle or in each of the meetings individually.

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Contact

Juan Bautista Lopez, juanbautistalopez@fundeps.org

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We participate in the preparation of the general guidelines of the Yolanda law

From July 19 to 23, we participated in the meetings called by the Ministry of the Environment of the Province for the preparation of the general guidelines at the provincial level established in Law No. 10,758 of adherence to the Yolanda Law.

“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”

As ordered by Art. 3 and 4 of National Law No. 27,592, the Ministry of the Environment of the Province held a series of meetings in which various Civil Society Organizations of the Province participated. The objective was the preparation of the general guidelines on content to be dictated in the training aimed at people who exercise public functions in the three branches of the State.

The meetings dealt with various topics associated with the biodiversity axis, climate change, training in laws, among others. The space allowed each organization to give its point of view about the important issues and the modalities to be adopted.

The design of the law and its compliance by the authorities, allows and will allow the training of those who implement public policies on environmental matters, based on consensual content from the dialogue. Undoubtedly, citizen participation constitutes a fundamental pillar for any institutional architecture linked to the environmental issue, which must be reflected in a real and finished way at the moment of crystallizing state practice, in this case, mandatory training.

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Juan Bautista López, juanbautistalopez@fundeps.org

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We make contributions to the basic guidelines of the Yolanda Law

With the enactment of National Law No. 27,592-Yolanda Law-, the national State established mandatory training in environmental matters for people who exercise public functions.

“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”

Within the framework of the new regulations, the enforcement authority (the National Ministry of the Environment) summoned civil society organizations and scientific institutions specialized in the matter, in order to establish the “General Guidelines” for training. To this end, the Ministry made available a base document for making comments and a web form.

From Fundeps, after analyzing the base document, we present contributions related to the so-called epistemological axes that should guide the training. We also made comments on the teaching-learning methodological alternatives to be adopted.

It remains to be noted that the document proposes certain “mandatory” topics for the entire state sector and others of an “optional” nature. However, the generality in the formulation of the conceptual contents is generic and presents several disadvantages depending on the perspective adopted on the subject. For this reason, we suggest certain core minimum contents in which the training program must be established within the framework of the Yolanda Law.

Training in environmental matters is essential for institutional design, public policy development and judicial decision-making, thus understanding the three functions that the State exercises (legislative, executive and judicial). It is necessary that the issues to be addressed present a strong commitment to the state function to guarantee the sustainability of life and the enjoyment of fundamental rights.

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The province of Córdoba adhered to the Yolanda Law

Contact

Juan Bautista Lopez, juanbautistalopez@fundeps.org

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ESCAZÚ AGREEMENT: Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters

This resource is intended to publicize the content, the rights it guarantees and the obligations of the State that govern the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean – called the Escazú Agreement. In addition, it incorporates in its annexes tools and models to exercise these rights before the authorities.

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The Municipal Environmental Issues Training Process

The Municipality of Córdoba sanctioned ordinance No. 13.103 in November 2020. Even though it is not a question of adhering to the so-called Yolanda Law, it implements permanent and mandatory training in environmental matters at the municipal level.

“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 ordinance obliges all persons who perform municipal public functions to receive training in environmental matters. In particular, the ordinance raises issues such as current regulations, with a focus on climate change, global warming, environmental care and ecological balance, urban solid waste management, the circular economy, biodiversity and the responsible use of resources in the workplace.

Although the regulations provide for a mechanism for access to information for the dissemination of the degree of compliance through various indicators, to date this has not been implemented. However, various events have been announced through the municipal portal in which the trainings were carried out.

In this framework, we request through the municipal platform for access to information, various points about the implementation process to date. The laws and ordinances that guarantee access to public environmental information allow this type of information to be requested in order to monitor public policies.

The truth is that on numerous occasions this type of request is not usually answered, impacting such action on the exercise of these rights. Access to information is a pillar for the defense of collective rights and for an adequate participatory environmental management.

Contact

Juan Bautista López, juanbautistalopez@fundeps.org

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Mobilization to reject the highway in Punilla

On May 20, we accompanied the Argentina Fair, Eco Casa, Córdoba Environment Assembly, Córdoba Environmental Forum and Córdoba Climate Forum in a call to demand the sanction of the Punilla highway project. The complaint was made within the framework of the last day of the project’s public hearing.

“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 result of the public hearings held via the web was overwhelming. 90% of those who participated will express their rejection. Among some of the fundamentals, it is worth mentioning the one that shows that the project crosses 16 water courses, affecting the water bodies of any water dependent on access to drinking water in the communities. Likewise, if it indicates that it involves the affectation of 172 hectares of native forest -red category-, negatively impacting the functions of the ecosystems and the fauna that inhabits there.

In addition, the Environmental Impact Assessment procedure was carried out with notorious deficiencies, affecting citizen participation, a fundamental requirement to grant any authorization. In addition, in the face of this scenario of rejection by the communities, the national State issued Decree No. 295/2021 on May 3, through which it approves its approval for the construction of the highway. This is less problematic, as the Environmental Impact Assessment process is in the middle of the development process.

The EIA process must consider and review all observations. The rejection of the road was the driver of the exhibitions that were held in the public hearing, and must be evaluated at the time of issuing an administrative act. It is not possible to grant an environmental license due to a social license.

Photo: Tomás Medina

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Juan Bautista López, juanbautistalopez@fundeps.org

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The province of Córdoba adhered to the Yolanda Law

Today the provincial Legislature approved the adhesion project to the Yolanda Law for comprehensive environmental training, with a perspective of sustainable development and with special emphasis on climate change for people who work in public functions.

“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”

With the incorporation of certain particular regulations, the province of Córdoba sanctioned the regulations by which it adheres to National Law No. 27,592, called Yolanda Law in honor of Yolanda Ortiz, who was the first Secretary of Natural Resources and Human Environment of the Argentinian republic.

This law will oblige people who exercise public functions in the provincial State to be trained in the environment, with a perspective of sustainable development and with special emphasis on climate change. The Cordovan text incorporates issues of particular regional interest, numbered in an enunciative way, such as native forest, climate change, environmental law, urban solid waste management, environmental impact of public policies, preservation of protected areas and water resources, among others.

Likewise, fortunately, the enforcement authority is established in the same body of the law, with the Environment Secretariat being in charge of its application. In addition, it seeks to guarantee public access to information regarding the degree of compliance with the law, as well as granting the enforcement authority the power to enter into agreements with universities, scientific institutions, civil society organizations and other entities to ensure compliance with the standard.

Despite the fact that the regulations could have been superseded in relation to the National Law regarding the formation of a mixed application authority that incorporates the Ministry of Education, as well as the incorporation of a means of complaint or claim that allows the citizens contribute to the inspection process, we celebrate the provincial adherence to this important tool for environmental protection.

Contact

Juan Bautista López, juanbautistalopez@fundeps.org

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The day of the animal in Argentina

On April 29, the day of the animal was celebrated in Argentina, in tribute to Ignacio Lucas Albarracin, a lawyer from Córdoba who from the Society for the Protection of Animals, safeguarded their rights and promoted the first Animal Protection Law in the country.

The current context of environmental and climate crisis requires animal protection as a fundamental component of the different ecosystems from a comprehensive perspective. The degradation of native forests, rivers, wetlands and other biomes, necessarily affects the different species that inhabit them and that fulfill important ecosystem functions.

In addition to the animal impact caused by environmental degradation, today there are production, consumption and scientific development systems that base their practices on the use of certain non-human species. These apply devious methods that cause great suffering in the animal body. There are also certain practices or traditions that by their very nature are built on animal suffering.

The anthropocentric vision – the human being as the center of all things – seems to be the foundation of such practices, since it has placed the human being at the top of the pyramid of species and the non-human animals subordinate to their own satisfaction. Threat is the model of appropriation of nature that the human species has conceived.

In this regard, there are production and consumption alternatives that promote the adoption of sustainable and non-cruel habits for animals. An example of this is agroecology, whose practices are based on an interrelation aimed at avoiding unnecessary suffering of the species, under the application of certain practices that free the animal from pain, hunger, fear, discomfort and allow it to express its normal behavior.

Finally, some States recognize animals and ecosystems the status of subjects of non-human rights, guaranteeing them a certain degree of legal protection. Legal cases such as that of the Chimpanzee Cecilia in Mendoza or the orangutan Sandra in Buenos Aires, have opened in our country this line of recognition of rights to non-human entities.

Undoubtedly, Animal Day raises awareness about the importance of the respect and care they deserve, of protecting endangered species or promoting learning about their role as part of the environment. It is also an opportunity to generate questions about the way in which society relates to other species, putting in tension given structures and conceptions, in order to guarantee the integrity of those who make up nature as a whole.

Authors

  • Débora Sabrina Neck
  • Quimey Comba
  • Lucrecia Busso

Contact

Juan Bautista López, juanbautistalopez@fundeps.org

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International Day of Peasant Struggle

On April 17, the International Day of Peasant Struggle was celebrated, commemorating the murder of 19 peasants who demanded their access to land and justice in 1966 in El Dorado dos Carajá, Brazil. Crime that still goes unpunished.

Access to land continues to be one of the main conflicts facing the peasantry today. The dispute is based on the struggle for access, control and reconfiguration of the territory that includes soil, water, air, biodiversity, communities, etc. In our region, the main reason that has triggered it is the advance of agribusiness, characterized by being in the hands of a small number of national and transnational companies that are articulated through the sale and appropriation of land, transgenic seeds, pesticides, machinery , until its effective commercialization (in the hands of monopolies).

The dominant production model in our country, based on the “green revolution”, is based on a destructive, decontextualized way of producing and not linked to the pre-existing communities, nature and customs of the region where it takes place. Proof of this are the innumerable environmental and social liabilities that it generates through the excessive use of agrochemicals, the indiscriminate felling of trees, the contamination of surface waters and water sources, the immoderate use of fossil fuels, the increasing emission of greenhouse gases. , the impoverishment of soils, the extermination of biodiversity and the consequent production of food lacking in nutrients.

As a result of the serious consequences that it produces both in health and in the environment, over the years, different resistances to this form of production have been developed. An example of this is Ramona Orellano de Bustamante, a symbol of struggle for peasants and peasants, who for more than 15 years has resisted in the north of the province of Cordoba in defense of its territory, facing economic power, agribusiness, and power. judicial system, and the system that has systematically violated it.

Agroecology is thus presented as an alternative to agribusiness, developed by the peasantry, peasant families and indigenous peoples. This other way of producing is not considered only as a method of cultivating healthy food of nutritional quality, but also as a movement with social, cultural and political goals whose principle is respect for Mother Earth. It also revalues ​​the peasant status, helps to build independence from unfavorable markets, favoring local, sustainable and resilient development in the face of climate change.

Despite all the benefits that agroecology presents, and the need to promote family, peasant and indigenous agriculture, and if it is regulated both at the national and provincial level (National Law of Family, Peasant and Indigenous Agriculture and Law of Good Agricultural Practices de Córdoba), there are currently no real public policies that value and promote it. For these reasons, a true political will is necessary to address the urgency of an agrarian reform, which leads us towards a more sustainable agriculture, which produces quality food and with well-paid farmers recognized for their service to society. Undoubtedly, it is a pending debt and there is still a long way to go, so it is important that the fight is vindicated and made visible on April 17.

Authors

  • Ananda Lavayen
  • Maria Laura Carrizo

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Citizen participation in check

This Friday, April 9, at 12 noon, the public hearing will begin on the Punilla highway. It will be done through a digital platform and will be broadcast live on YouTube.

“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”

Within the framework of the project “ALTERNATIVE ROUTE N ° 38 – VARIANT SECTION COSTA AZUL – LA CUMBRE” -punilla highway-, the environment secretary of the Province convened the corresponding public hearing. This stage is mandatory and prior to obtaining the environmental license.

Beyond the technical-environmental objections that the project deserves regarding its environmental impact, whose evaluation may imply the denial (or not) of the environmental license, the procedure selected by the provincial authority to the holding of the public hearing.

Is that the call itself established that to proceed with the registration, it was necessary to have “LEVEL 2” of Digital Citizen -CIDI- or, where appropriate, obtain it. Then, once this procedure was completed, it was possible to register through the “participation” service of said portal. Each and every one of these previous steps required having access to the internet, a device with a camera and even knowledge of technologies.

To participate in the public hearing – which is scheduled to begin today – you must have a device that allows you to access the corresponding “Google Meet” session. This adds other variables that make access to the procedure difficult, since the person interested in participating must not only have a good internet connection -due to the number of people present in the same session- but also with computer knowledge and a device appropriate technology. In addition, given the possible attendance of many people, the administration must adopt a good room management mechanism, trusting that the platform does not collapse due to the number of online participants.

All these requirements for the exercise of the right to public participation, in addition to finding their justification in the pandemic context, are based on the regulatory framework created by Provincial Law No. 10,618 and its Regulatory Decree No. 750/19 for the modernization of the administration. This regulation is what makes possible, based on Art. 8, the possibility of digital audiences.

The requirements designed by the provincial administration for the enjoyment of the right to citizen participation in environmental matters, generates certain questions regarding the validity of the procedure and the consequent administrative act. Participation must be open, inclusive, guaranteeing favorable conditions so that it can be adapted to the characteristics of the population, taking into special consideration those sectors that for one reason or another are in a situation of vulnerability. The way in which the digital public hearing has been implemented seems to move away from these guidelines, generating restrictions that have a direct impact on the enjoyment of the right of access to public participation in environmental matters, particularly of those people who do not have devices, knowledge and necessary infrastructure.

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