Indigenous Rights

Climate Change, Human Rights, Indigenous Rights

The Alliance for the Andean Wetlands brings together organizations for the protection and conservation of wetlands

The alliance seeks to protect the water, biodiversity, territories and ways of life that depend on these ecosystems in Latin America, especially in Argentina, Bolivia and Chile. With the aim to promote the protection and conservation of wetlands -as well as the water, biodiversity, territories and livelihoods of indigenous and peasant communities that depend on them- the Alliance for Andean Wetlands (Alianza por los Humedales Andinos) brings together the Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (FARN) and the PUCARÁ Assembly (Pueblos Catamarqueños en Resistencia y Autodeterminación), of Argentina; the Centro de Documentación e Información de Bolivia (CEDIB) and Empodérate, of Bolivia; ONG FIMA, Defensa Ambiental and Fundación Tantí, of Chile; and the Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA), a regional organization.The Andean wetlands - including salt flats, lakes and lagoons - are recognized worldwide as ecosystems of high environmental and social significance. They are also extremely fragile due to their characteristics, whose central element is water, a common good that controls the environment and wildlife. Their vulnerability also rises from the threats they face, including the climate crisis and the negative impacts of extractive activities such as the mining of lithium, copper and other minerals considered "critical" for the transition to new forms of energy generation.In this sense, the increase in demand for lithium in the global north has set in motion an accelerated process of extraction and production at a global level, focused on regions rich in this mineral, such as the Andean salt flats of Argentina, Bolivia and Chile, which are home to more than 53% of proven global reserves.From November 30 to December 12, representatives from nearly 200 countries will meet in Dubai, United Arab Emirates during the twenty-eighth United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 28) to continue advancing the implementation of the Paris Agreement, which seeks to strengthen the global response to the climate emergency.The protection of wetlands is crucial in this task because they are ecosystems that act as natural carbon sinks, helping to mitigate the crisis.Accelerating the energy transition will be one of the main lines of action at COP 28Faced with this global trend, the alliance promotes a just, participatory and popular socio-ecological transition with a long-term vision, prioritizing integrated water management under a socio-environmental and climate justice approach. Thus, it supports and accompanies local communities and organizations in the care of Andean wetlands and in the construction of socioeconomic alternatives that go beyond mining extractivism.The alliance also seeks to ensure the participation of communities and their access to complete, truthful and transparent information, as well as to provide information to the global society - involving organizations, States and the private sector - highlighting the value of the Andean wetlands and the multiple threats they face.To achieve its objective, the alliance employs pedagogical, legal, research, advocacy, communication and mobilization strategies collectively and in dialogue with communities and organizations. Recognizing the differentiated impacts of the climate crisis on women, girls, sexual dissidents and other vulnerable groups, the alliance incorporates a gender perspective in all its activities. Press contacts:Víctor Quintanilla, AIDA (regional), [email protected], +521 5570522107Carlos Ulloa Fuentes, Fundación Tantí (Chile), [email protected] +569 37614815Rocío Wischñevsky, FARN (Argentina), [email protected], +541159518538Manuel Fontenla, Asamblea PUCARÁ (Argentina), [email protected], +54 9 3834790609Faviola Rivera Seifert, Empodérate (Bolivia), [email protected], +591 77129989Oscar Campanini, CEDIB (Bolivia), [email protected], +591 70344801 

Read more
Xingu River in the Amazon, Brazil
Human Rights, Indigenous Rights, Freshwater Sources

Solidarity note for social movements, organizations, and rights advocates who are victims of criminalization attempts by the company Belo Sun Mineração Ltda.

The undersigned member organizations of the Volta Grande do Xingu Alliance (AVGX) call on partners, civil society organizations, legal experts, and researchers to support and strengthen individuals and movements that, due to their tireless defense of peoples, biodiversity, and the existence of the Volta Grande do Xingu, are facing intimidation and attempted criminalization by the company Belo Sun Mineração Ltda.We need to show large corporations that civil society in Brazil and abroad is united around this cause. We will not step back in protecting the environment and human rights in the face of threats. Sign this note and join us in the protection of the Amazon, the Xingu River, and its defenders!More information below:On October 17, 2023, the mining company Belo Sun Ltda., the Brazilian subsidiary of the Canadian company Belo Sun Mining Corp., filed a criminal lawsuit against more than 30 people, most of them small-scale farmers. These individuals, backed by  are questioning the acquisition of land by the mining company within the Ressaca Settlement Project, in the municipality of Senador José Porfírio - Pará, and demanding that this land fulfill its agrarian and social function. These concerns are the basis of a lawsuit in federal court by the federal and local Public Defender’s Offices.The criminal complaint is a clear attempt to silence environmental and human rights defenders. This silencing is intensified by the presence of the company's armed security in the territory. It is also an attempt to criminalize organizations that monitor and denounce the destruction caused by large projects in the Volta Grande do Xingu. On November 15, a group of 25 local movements and organizations, mainly based in Altamira, Pará, issued an open letter condemning the criminalization of farmers, social movements, and civil society organizations promoted by the Canadian mining company Belo Sun. It is essential that the terms of this letter be strengthened and echoed nationally and internationally.This is not the first time that Belo Sun Mineração Ltda. has intimidated civil society organizations and human rights defenders. In 2022, the company filed a lawsuit against a university professor who had exposed the risks that the Volta Grande Project would pose to the Xingu River and its people. In mid-2023, Belo Sun sent an extrajudicial notice to the National Coordination of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (Apib), attempting to silence the organization's complaints about the risks posed by the mining project in the Volta Grande do Xingu. This notice came shortly after the release of a report on Belo Sun by the legal team of the Apib and an international advocacy action at the UN in Geneva carried out by the Alliance for the Volta Grande do Xingu, a coalition of which Apib is a part. The action aimed to expose corporate abuses by Canadian companies in the Brazilian Amazon and in eight other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Regarding Belo Sun's activities in the Volta Grande do XinguBelo Sun aims to establish a massive open pit gold mining project overlapping the PA Ressaca region, on the banks of the Xingu River, with the goal of operating the largest gold mine in Brazil. The so-called Volta Grande Project (PVG), if approved, would substantially and potentially irreversibly impact a territory already severely affected by the Belo Monte mega-dam, as well as affecting the lands and traditional ways of life of various indigenous peoples, rural settlements, and riverside communities in this region.Several lawsuits have been filed documenting the irregularities committed by Belo Sun, including the absence of free, prior, and informed consultarions and consent from the affected indigenous and traditional communities; the illegal acquisition of plots within the PA Ressaca; the harassment and violation of the right to free movement and access to the territory of local communities; and the lack of competence of the State of Pará to issue the environmental license for the PVG. Its licensing has been suspended since 2017 by the decision of the Federal Regional Court of the 1st Region, and on September 11, 2023, it was transferred to the jurisdiction of Ibama, a federal agency. DemandsWe, citizens, civil society organizations, and representatives of social movements who support this statement, condemn the criminalization promoted by Belo Sun Mineração Ltda. We express our solidarity with the victims of this process and emphasize our understanding that:We support the terms of this petition and join voices in denouncing that intimidation and criminalization of human rights defenders, activists, researchers, and leaders of social movements by Belo Sun are unacceptable, and therefore, we support the terms of this petition.The Land Reform Project (Projeto de Assentamento) Ressaca is an area designated for agrarian reform and local family farming located in a region already highly vulnerable from a socio-environmental perspective, making it incompatible with the installation of a large-scale open-pit gold mining project like Belo Sun's Volta Grande Project.The public authorities must take necessary measures to empower the families, communities, and peoples of the Volta Grande do Xingu, ensuring their effective participation in governance and the protection of the territory. The member organizations of the Volta Grande do Xingu Alliance issuing this statement and calling for endorsements are:Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Brasil - APIBMovimento Xingu Vivo - BrasilAmazon WatchInterametican Association for Environmental Defense - AIDAInternational RiversEarthworks Justiça GlobalMiningWatch Canada Join us in protecting the Amazon, the Xingu River, and their defenders!Sign the note of international solidarity against the judicial harassment being carried out by Belo Sun: https://forms.gle/tzUzR47v72jsdEPN8 

Read more
Salinas Grandes, Argentina
Indigenous Rights, Mining, Freshwater Sources

"Water is worth more than lithium": Resistance against an unjust energy transition

"Water is worth more than lithium" is the slogan under which social organizations, trade unions and indigenous peoples have been expressing their resistance against the constitutional reform in Jujuy, a province in northern Argentina. They claim that this reform, promoted by Governor Gerardo Morales, doesn’t  respect international regulations on the rights of indigenous peoples, including Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization (ILO), which establishes the right to free, prior and informed consultation of peoples on projects to be developed in their ancestral territories. In this sense, this reform would have been approved on June 16, in a short process that didn’t allow for broad public participation and deliberation and in which there was no proper consultation with indigenous peoples. Furthermore, the constitutional text represents a significant step backwards on environmental and human rights issues; it also opens the doors to mega-mining -including lithium mining- under the guise of energy transition, criminalizes protests and allows the privatization of both water and indigenous lands. Indigenous communities have claimed that the indiscriminate advancement of lithium mining projects in the province will exacerbate the water crisis currently affecting the area. With increasing international demand for lithium - considered a strategic resource due to its energy storage capacity (useful for the battery and electric vehicle industries) - global mining and production has accelerated in recent years, with a focus on regions rich in the mineral, such as the Andean salt flats of Argentina, Bolivia and Chile, where more than 53% of the world's proven reserves are located. Lithium is found in brines, pegmatites and sedimentary rocks, although it’s easier to from the former. However, extraction requires large quantities of water and takes place in fragile ecosystems such as salt flats, which suffer from water-deficiency and are severely affected by the impacts of the climate crisis. The social resistance to the constitutional reform in Jujuy is also a resistance to a global trend that, in the name of an energy transition that is far from being just, seeks to perpetuate extractivist models that violate human rights.   Human rights violations in Jujuy AIDA - along with seven other civil society organizations with extensive experience in environmental and human rights defense - was part of an international mission that visited Jujuy from 21 to 25 August to learn first-hand about possible violations of the right to protest and participation in the context of the constitutional reform.     The mission visited the main protest centers and documented testimonies from people from indigenous groups and communities, farmers' associations, trade unions and human rights organizations, as well as social leaders, teachers, lawyers and provincial authorities. Preliminary conclusions indicate that: Even when indigenous peoples and their communities demanded participation in the constitutional reform, it was carried out without an exhaustive deliberative process. Despite climate crisis and water scarcity, the reform doesn’t properly address integrated basin management and ecosystems conservation. The reform seems to favor large-scale industrial, agricultural and livestock use of water resources and opens the doors to concessions that can lead the privatization of water, damaging ecosystem cycles and failing to protect small-scale agriculture and livestock, vital to the existence of native communities. There is a repeated and manifest concern from indigenous communities about the negative impacts of mining, particularly lithium extraction projects. Testimonies report cases of repression of social protest, arbitrary arrests, harassment and alleged torture by the police of people involved in resistance, as well as disproportionate use of force.   The mission is currently systematizing the information collected in order to prepare recommendations oriented that will highlight the complex situation in the province of Jujuy and contribute to a dialog that will allow for a better resolution of the social conflict and respect for human rights.   What kind of transition does the constitutional reform in Jujuy point to? Addressing this question is important to understand that a just energy transition is incompatible with a context in which private economic interests prevail over social and environmental considerations, and in which government actions ignore the impacts of lithium extraction and the legitimate claims of local communities to manage their water and territory.   Jujuy is home to over 12 indigenous peoples and around 400 communities -whose members have dedicated for millennia to salt extraction in Salinas Grandes, the fourth largest salt flat in South America. Their connection to water is sacred and ancient. It’s a cultural connection that is threatened by the exploitation of lithium, which jeopardizes the availability of an extremely scarce resource. "To extract one ton of lithium (through evaporation), 2 million liters of water are evaporated from the wells, that is, 2000 tons of water that cannot be re-circulated," says Ingrid Garcés, professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Mineral Processes at the University of Antofagasta, Chile. This "is profitable for the industry because it means a process without energy costs, but unfortunately it has the cost of losing water from a system that is not renewable, especially in a desert region" (like the salt flats). The constitutional reform in Jujuy doesn’t stipulate an order of priority for water use, but puts human and industrial consumption on the same level. Limited access to water is a central concern in the province, as there are few groundwater resources to meet the demand for water for human and domestic use, as well as for small-scale agricultural and livestock production.   An urgent change of course The water crisis is one of the most pressing crises worldwide and is intrinsically linked to the climate crisis and the need to switch to alternative energy production. Extreme weather patterns - such as prolonged droughts, floods and more intense storms – have a direct impact on the availability and distribution of water in different regions of the world, leading to a decline in water resources. In this scenario, competition for water use intensifies and requires social water management for the benefit of communities. This is the only way to address the situation in terms of sustainability and environmental justice. The extraction of lithium to satisfy corporate interests is an example of the paradox that tackling the climate crisis comes at the expense of communities and ecosystems. The lack of fair and equitable distribution of benefits and the externalization of environmental and social costs underscores the urgency to rethink and radically transform our relationship with natural resources and the way we address the climate crisis.  

Read more
Indigenous Rights, Mining

High court orders Colombian government to adopt concrete actions for climate crisis mitigation and adaptation

After evidencing that the Ministry of Environment failed to comply with climate obligations contained in the national legislation, the State Council ordered the entity to take concrete measures to meet these commitments within one year. This is the final decision in the litigation filed by various stakeholders demanding the State to include the climate impact of the coal sector in its climate crisis management. The State Council ordered the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development to adopt, within one year, specific measures to mitigate and adapt to the climate crisis in order to fulfill part of the country's climate commitments. With this ruling, the High Court resolved a compliance action filed on May  of this year by a coalition of civil society organizations, think tanks and universities to require the State to include the impacts of the coal production chain in the climate policy.In the decision, the State Council acknowledges the Ministry's failure to comply with the norms to include climate impacts in projects with environmental management and control instruments, the lack of regulations regarding emissions from the coal sector, and the absence of a report and evaluation of the impact of the implementation of nature-based solutions programs and projects.Although the decision could have been more ambitious by also recognizing other alleged non-compliances that were proved in the litigation, the high court issued four fundamental orders to be complied by the Ministry of Environment:Inclusion of climate change adaptation and mitigation considerations in the environmental management and control instruments of projects, emphasizing the quantification of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the contributions of environmental compensation measures to the Nationally Determined Contributions, submitted by the State to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.Adopt a national guideline for formulating, developing, monitoring, reporting and evaluating the impact of implementing nature-based solutions programs and projects. This must include climate change management, integration with an ecosystem approach, contributions to the economy, benefits to biodiversity and human communities.Determining the methodologies for calculating direct and indirect emissions that must be reported, the methods, tools, processes and periodicity of reporting on GHG emissions, and the information and documentation required for GHG inventories.Regulation of the conditions for the verification, certification and registration of GHG emissions, emission reductions and removals as well as determination of the follow-up and control procedures foreseen. Based on the result, this litigation is the first successful case of strategic and climate litigation in the continent, as it was possible to prove that the State failed to comply to specific climate commitments, and has succeeded to order to one of the competent authorities to adopt concrete actions for appropriate climate management. The strategy employed and the precedent achieved can well be replicated in other countries in the region.The enforcement action was filed with the Administrative Court of Cundinamarca by the Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense, the José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers Collective, Censat Agua Viva, Centro de Investigación y Educación Popular, POLEN Transiciones Justas, Universidad de Magdalena and researcher Paola Yanguas.In July, the court issued the first-instance ruling in this case. In it, it issued eight orders requiring not only  the Ministry of Environment—but also the Ministry of Mines and Energy—to comply with Law 1931 of 2018 and Law 2165 of 2021, which set out the minimum actions that Colombia must take to meet its climate commitments at international level.This litigation showed that over the last six years, the government has omitted the obligations contained in these laws, particularly in relation to the climate impact caused by the coal sector.The case was subsequently referred to the State Council, whose final decision confirmed part of the ruling of the Administrative Court of Cundinamarca.As the largest coal exporter in Latin America, Colombia is obliged to include in its climate commitments the true extent of the impact of the coal sector. This was demanded by the communities of La Guajira, which have been directly affected for decades.Although these communities did not sign the litigation, they sponsored it and accompanied its presentation with traditional dance and music. Press contact:Víctor Quintanilla-Sangueza (Mexico), AIDA, [email protected], +521 5570522107 

Read more
Paisaje desértico en La Guajira, Colombia.
Indigenous Rights, Mining, Freshwater Sources

Expanding coal mining in Colombia contravenes a just energy transition

Colombia faces numerous challenges related to the just energy transition the world needs. As the main exporter of thermal coal in Latin America, one of its primary challenges is to define the future of this mineral in the country's economic and energy matrices, as well as how to align this sector with its commitments to address the global climate crisis. Certainly, the measures taken to achieve a just energy transition and meet climate commitments must respect and guarantee human rights. The State must do so with a differentiated perspective that respects the most vulnerable groups in society who are most affected by the impacts of the climate crisis and transition processes. As part of a plan to change the energy transition strategy, the current government has proposed to create a roadmap that focuses, among other things, on promoting renewable energy projects from non-conventional sources, among other initiatives. The proposal is based on four principles: equity, social and binding participation, sovereign graduality with reliability, and a principle of knowledge. Although the proposed strategy can be seen as progress towards energy transition and meeting international commitments and standards, it has some gaps: it does not focus sufficiently on fossil fuel substitution and ignores the role and impact of the coal sector in all its phases. The omission of the structural causes of the climate crisis hinders the consolidation of an energy transition, which is now a contested scenario with various claims and interests at stake. A vivid example is the department of La Guajira in the north of the country, where a high potential for renewable energy coincides with the extraction of 35% of exported coal, exacerbating the climate crisis. This has increased the region's already high climate vulnerability and aggravated human rights violations in that territory. The impacts–particularly water stress, desertification, and reduced rainfall—have been so severe that the government has declared a state of economic, social, and environmental emergency in La Guajira, where the El Niño phenomenon is expected to occur with greater intensity and duration than in previous years.   The coal sector’s role in the energy transition process Combating and addressing the climate crisis requires progress in replacing fossil fuels, as well as slowing down the expansion of their extraction and exploitation with the obvious consequence of limiting their use as much as possible. In the countries of the Global South, which are highly dependent on the extraction and commercialization of fossil fuels, the debate has begun on whether and how to move forward with the substitution process. If Colombia is to move forward in meeting its climate commitments and in the process of a just energy transition, it must halt the approval of new thermal coal mining projects, avoid the expansion of existing projects, and initiate responsible exit processes for a gradual closure of mining operations in which rights are guaranteed. The energy transition roadmap should focus on avoiding, as much as possible, human rights impacts (territorial, subsistence, and environmental) on the communities most affected by the impacts of the climate crisis. The goal is to avoid further human rights violations and a lack of protection for the territories traversed by the coal sector's production chain. The debate around the energy transition and the socio-environmental conflicts associated with coal is fully exemplified in the case of the Bruno stream, in La Guajira, with an ongoing legal process. It is now in the hands of the Constitutional Court to decide between the protection of a stream vital to an area of high water stress and the exploitation of its channel to expand the mine of the company Carbones del Cerrejón (owned by the multinational Glencore). What is at stake is the guarantee of the Wayúu communities' rights of access to water, health and life. The debate about the energy transition and the socio-environmental conflicts associated with coal is exemplified by Bruno Stream in La Guajira, which is the subject of a court case. It is now in the hands of the Constitutional Court to decide between the protection of a stream vital to an area of high water stress and the exploitation of its channel to expand the mine of the Carbones del Cerrejón company (owned by the multinational Glencore). What is at stake is the guarantee of the Wayúu communities' rights to access to water, health and life.   What just transition does need After analyzing the role of coal in the process of just energy transition in Colombia, it is possible to conclude that the country is not meeting its climate commitments because it has not established specific measures and actions for the coal sector in its climate policy. If Colombia wants to move forward in fossil fuel substitution, climate policy and the energy transition process cannot be separated from the monitoring and decision-making of the relevant authorities regarding specific projects in the coal sector. Climate change management and the energy transition process must recognize the claims of justice, reparation, and non-repetition raised by communities affected by years of coal extraction, such as those in the department of La Guajira. In a just energy transition scenario, progressive, participatory and inclusive processes to end mining - together with the affected communities - must be ensured, aiming to create diversification and conversion scenarios in regions with high dependence on the coal sector. Acting within this framework is desirable and possible.  

Read more
Accountability and Transparency, Human Rights, Indigenous Rights

Report reveals shocking rights violations by Canadian corporations in Latin America

Geneva - A groundbreaking report titled "Unmasking Canada: Rights Violations Across Latin America" was unveiled at the United Nations Universal Periodic Review Process (UPR) pre-session in Geneva, spanning from August 28 to September 1, 2023. This in-depth investigation highlights extensive human rights and environmental breaches by Canadian companies in Latin America and the Caribbean. Compiled through the collaboration of over 50 civil society organizations, the report implicates 37 Canadian projects across nine countries in the region. Of these, 32 projects have been found responsible for environmental rights infringements, including 105 oil spills in Peru's Block 192, directly linked to Frontera Energy. Additionally, the right to Free, Prior, and Informed Consent was violated in 26 projects, exemplified by dubious practices in Ecuador's Warintza project managed by Solaris Resources Inc. Violent confrontations tied to 16 projects are also highlighted, with a notable incident in Peru in July 2023, where 20 individuals were injured. While Canada positions itself as "climate forward," this report challenges such a portrayal, emphasizing Canada's protection of extractive industries that are responsible for significant human rights and environmental harm. In response to these findings and anticipating Canada's UPR on November 10, 2023, the report advocates for UN member states to impose legally binding resolutions on Canada, compelling the nation to address corporate misconduct overseas. Mauricio Terena, Legal Coordinator from Brazil’s Association of Indigenous People (APIB), said: "We have come here to denounce the involvement of Canadian companies in human rights violations in Brazil, particularly the case of the Belo Sun mining company in Pará, which aims to establish the country's largest open-pit gold mine. While Canada portrays itself as a defender of human rights and the environment, its actions contradict this narrative, especially when infringing upon the rights of indigenous peoples in Brazil. The discrepancy becomes evident when we realize that Canada has not signed the ILO's Convention 169. Therefore, we hope that the states with which we are in dialogue recognize this reality and urge Canada to reassess the operations of its corporations, seeking tangible action in defense of indigenous peoples and traditional communities". Addressing the UPR's function, where every four years UN member states review each other's human rights records, Latin American civil society representatives presented new recommendations for Canada. These recommendations underscore the need for Canada to introduce binding and comprehensive legislation centered on due diligence and corporate accountability. This encompasses the oversight of financial institutions and Canadian corporations throughout their global supply chains, aiming to prevent, mitigate, and penalize corporate misdeeds while ensuring victims of such practices overseas can seek justice and full reparation. "We hope that the UPR (Universal Periodic Review) process will establish itself as another strategy in our defense of indigenous peoples' rights, serving as a tool for the protection of human, indigenous, and environmental rights. It is essential to acknowledge that corporations involved in such violations are committing criminal acts. These actions should not be viewed merely as isolated incidents, but rather on a broader scale, as violating indigenous rights impacts all of humanity. Thus, beyond national and international laws, these transgressions should be seen from a more comprehensive perspective. It is crucial for states to commit, within the UN framework, to join a global mechanism where they recognize the need to monitor and mutually hold each other accountable for actions that uphold human, indigenous, and environmental rights", said Maria Judite "Kari" Guajajara, Legal Advisor at the National Indigenous Organization of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB). This isn't the first instance of Canada facing allegations within the United Nations Universal System due to the activities of its corporations abroad. Six recommendations were directed at Canada during the 3rd cycle of the Periodic Review. These addressed, among other concerns, Canadian businesses' vital assurance and protection of human rights. Nevertheless, even after pledging to meet these recommendations, Canada consistently failed to fulfill its extraterritorial obligations, neglecting to take effective action to supervise corporate activities domestically and internationally. Gisela Hurtado, Advocacy Manager at Amazon Watch, commented: "Our report unveils the disturbing reality behind Canada's corporate endeavors in Latin America. While Canada boasts of ethical business conduct, the documented evidence reveals a starkly contrasting picture – one where profit is prioritized over people and the environment. Urgent change is paramount." The report's presentation in Geneva was spearheaded by a delegation that included Mauricio Terena from APIB; Maria Judite "Kari" Guajajara from COIAB; Josefa de Oliveira, a Popular Educator with Movimento Xingu Vivo Para Sempre; Lorena Aranha Curuaia, Vice President of the Iawá Community; ; and Brayan Mojanajinsoy Pasos, General Secretary of the Association of Indigenous Councils of the Municipality of Villagarzón Putumayo (ACIMVIP). The delegation was further supported by representatives from organizations including Amazon Watch, AIDA (Regional), Earthworks (US) Gaia (Colombia), and Ambiente y Sociedad (Colombia).   Short summary involving Canadian companies involved in rights violations highlighted in the report   1. Frontera Energy in Lote 192 in Peru: - Over 2,000 sites contaminated, affecting 26 Amazonian indigenous communities. - Proposed activity closure plan doesn’t include reparations for affected communities.   2. Mineradora Argentina Gold SRL (joint venture between Barrick Gold and Shandong Gold): - Responsible for at least five toxic substance leakages, including cyanide and arsenic, into the Jáchal River in Argentina from the Veladero mine. - The project is in violation of the Glacier Law due to its location in a glacial zone and affects the UNESCO recognized biodiversity heritage site, the San Guilhermo Reserve.   3. Belo Sun's Volta Grande project in Brazil: - Cumulative impacts with the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam, located less than 10 km away from the prospected mining site; - Armed security forces hired by the Canadian mining company to monitor local leaders and hindering their freedom of movement; - Utter disrespect to Free, Prior and Informed Consent of Indigenous and riverine communities; - Imminent and irreversible risks of an environmental tragedy if toxic waste spills into the Xingu River due to a potential dam break, given the lack of sysmic and tailings dam safety studies. - Direct impact on communities, their traditional livelihoods, and local ecosystems.   4. The Mina Varadero in Chile: - Contaminated water sources with mercury, impacting rural populations and children.   5. ISAGEN - Brookfield Asset Management's Hidrosogamoso dam in Colombia: - Significant harm to local ecosystems and communities.   6. American Lithium's mining projects (Falchani, Macusani, and Quelccaya) in Peru: - Regularly release toxic residues, affecting over 700,000 people and contaminating the Lake Titicaca and Amazon River basins.   7. Solaris Resources Inc.'s Warintza mining project in Ecuador: - Ignored the territorial rights of the Shuar Arutam indigenous people and adopted divisive tactics.   8. Mining project of Ixtaca in Mexico: - Suspended due to violations of indigenous rights.   9. El Pato II mining project in Guatemala: - Affected the Poqomam Maya and mestizo communities without proper prior consultation.   10. Libero Copper's Mocoa mining project in Colombia: - Directly harmed the ancestral territory of the Inga people, violating their rights.   11. Cosigo Resources LTD's Machado gold extraction project in Colombia: - Severely impacted sacred indigenous sites in the Yaigojé Apaporis territory.   12. Barrick Gold's Pueblo Viejo mine in the Dominican Republic: - Forced the displacement of 65 local families due to the El Llagal waste dam.   13. Mining projects of La Plata by Atico Mining Corporation and Las Naves by Curimining S.A. (a subsidiary of Adventus Mining Corporation) and **Salazar Resources Limited in Ecuador: - Tried legalizing their operations despite violating national and international human rights laws, leading to confrontations and injuries.   14. Petrotal's Lote 95 in Peru: - Protests demanding community rights resulted in several deaths by police forces guarding the oil field.   15. Equinox Gold in Brazil: - Concealed data regarding their operations and impacts, including a dam break. - 4,000 of people directly impacted by toxic waste resulted from the dam break that contaminated local Amazonian rivers, violating the right to a clean environment and adequate access to drinking water. - Criminalization of local community leaders that protested for the right to water.    16. Gran Tierra Energy in Ecuador: - Conducted explorations without proper information dissemination in the Charapa, Chanangué, and Iguana blocks.  

Read more
Paisaje de la selva amazónica en el Parque Nacional Yasuní, Ecuador
Indigenous Rights, Climate Change, Human Rights

Protecting Ecuador’s Yasuní National Park can bolster the global just energy transition

What the people of Ecuador decide in an August 20 referendum has the potential to not only slow oil exploitation in the Amazon, but also to generate a transformative impact at the national and international levels, recognizing the value of the key ecosystem for stabilizing the global climate and the need to transition to renewable and sustainable energy production.   On August 20, in a popular consultation, the Ecuadorian people will have the opportunity to decide on a definitive halt to oil exploitation in a part of Yasuní National Park, one of the most biodiverse areas of the planet, located in the Amazon rainforest. The consultation seeks to stop oil extraction in the ITT block (Ishpingo, Tiputini, Tambococha), one of three in production within the park. Yasuní National Park is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Multiple scientific studies have demonstrated its value in terms of biodiversity and its significance as the home to the Waorani people, and to the Tagaeri and Taromenane indigenous groups in voluntary isolation. The Amazon is an interconnected region shared by eight countries—Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela—and by French Guiana, a French overseas department, and what happens in one part of it affects the rest. Moreover, as a megadiverse region that serves as a global climate stabilizer, the importance of the Amazon rainforest is global. The eyes of the world will be watching to see if Ecuador chooses to protect its Amazonian territory, which would have a transformative impact not only in the country, but also across Latin America and the world. Protecting Yasuní would send a clear message that recognizes the ecological and social value of the Amazon to materialize the necessary energy transition and the protection of human rights. Javier Dávalos, AIDA's Climate Program Coordinator and Ecuadorian attorney, reflects: "After years of relentless struggle by social organizations and indigenous movements, Ecuador has the chance to make important progress in protecting an ecosystem that is key to adapting to and mitigating the global climate crisis, as well as to the survival of traditional and indigenous peoples, including those in voluntary isolation. To protect the climate for this and future generations, fossil fuel production must begin to decline immediately, and renewable energy production must be accelerated as part of a just transition. Ecuador can be a pioneer, leaving behind the environmental and social sacrifice zones promoted by the fossil fuel industry and showing the world how civil society can promote the just energy transition that the world needs.  It can be an example of how to build energy alternatives based on guaranteeing human rights and the rights of nature, and how to effectively combat the triple crisis the world is facing: climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution." Context The initiative to put a definitive stop to oil exploitation in part of the Amazon is in line with the recommendations of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the International Energy Agency that one-third to two-thirds of oil reserves be left in the ground in order to keep the increase in the average temperature of the planet below 2°C, compared to pre-industrial levels, and thus avoid catastrophic effects. The popular consultation in Ecuador takes place a few weeks after the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, declared the beginning of the era of "climate boiling", pointing out the need for concrete changes to face the emergency and crisis caused by global warming. In addition, this consultation comes shortly after the conclusion of the Amazon Summit in Brazil, where the eight Amazonian countries discussed how to chart a sustainable path forward for the Amazon rainforest. "It is time to phase out fossil fuels to protect the Amazon," said Gustavo Petro, President of Colombia, who recently urged Amazonian countries and their partners in the Global North to commit to phasing out fossil fuel exploitation in order to protect the right to a just transition and accelerate the transition to a post-oil economy. press contact: Víctor Quintanilla (Mexico), AIDA, [email protected], +521 5570522107  

Read more
Río en la Amazonía
Indigenous Rights, Climate Change, Human Rights

Amazon Summit: 6 proposals for preserving the Amazon through regional cooperation

The Amazon is the world's largest tropical forest, a megadiverse ecosystem, and a global climate stabilizer that plays a key role in South America's water cycle. The region is also home to hundreds of indigenous, peasant and local communities. Despite its richness and cultural importance, the Amazon is threatened by colonization and land grabbing, deforestation, fires and extractive activities, among others. Because the Amazon is shared by eight countries – Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela – and French Guiana, a French overseas department, its conservation requires a regional effort. The Amazon Cooperation Treaty (ACT), signed in 1978 by the eight Amazonian countries, promotes the sustainable development of the Amazonian territories, with an emphasis on cooperation and scientific research. In 1998, with an amendment to the Treaty, the countries created the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) to strengthen and improve the cooperation process. Today, ACTO is the only socio-environmental bloc in Latin America and the most important scenario for establishing solid regional coordination for the conservation of the Amazon biome. However, this intergovernmental organization has not yet reached its potential. On the one hand, it has encountered obstacles in generating funding, and has had to rely on international sources on several occasions. On the other hand, it has not allowed the effective participation of civil society.                     On August 8 and 9, the city of Belém do Pará in Brazil will host the Amazon Summit 2023, the fourth meeting of the Presidents of the States Parties to the ATT. Given the opportunity that this meeting offers to revitalize the ATT for the benefit of the Amazonian territories, we present below six proposals for the conservation of this ecosystem through regional cooperation.   1. Reform ACTO bodies to allow for public participation There is an urgent need to update the ACT and reinstate ACTO to ensure broad civil society participation, including in the meetings of ACTO's governing bodies and in the drafting of its Strategic Agenda for Amazon Cooperation. The minutes of such meetings should be made public. These and other measures are essential for Amazonian states to fulfill their obligations under the Escazú Agreement, a regional treaty that recognizes the public's right to access information on environmental matters.   2. Promote involvement, dialogue and coordination with Amazonian populations The indigenous, peasant and local communities that inhabit the Amazon have played a fundamental role in its protection. For millennia, their knowledge has enabled its conservation. Therefore, efforts to conserve this ecosystem must begin by recognizing, valuing and protecting these ancestral knowledge systems, promoting their participation in decision-making, and guaranteeing their rights in accordance with international human rights frameworks.   3. Protecting environmental defenders in the Amazon Four of the Amazonian countries – Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru – are among the countries with the highest risks for environmental and territorial defenders, especially indigenous and peasant women defenders. Despite this, ACTO currently has no strategy to address this serious situation. The organization must guarantee environmental defenders a safe and conducive environment for their work, a task that should include a program for the protection of women defenders in the Amazon.   4. Effectively fight the use of mercury in gold mining The use of mercury in small-scale gold mining is devastating to communities and ecosystems in the Amazon. At the regional level, ACTO should adopt a resolution or program to address this issue directly. And at the international level, member states should act as a bloc to push for amendments to the Minamata Convention on Mercury so that the treaty prohibits the marketing of the heavy metal and its use in small-scale gold mining.   5. Promote compliance with international environmental agreements Based on a regional strategy for the recognition of international environmental law to protect the Amazon and its people, ACTO should advise States Parties on compliance with environmental treaties such as the Convention on Biological Diversity. It should also assist States in the inclusion of threatened sites, knowledge systems, traditions and cultural expressions of peasant communities and indigenous peoples on lists of priority international attention and support, such as UNESCO Biosphere Reserves and Intangible Cultural Heritage, and Wetlands of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.   6. Promote a different vision of development for the Amazon ACTO should promote a vision of development that considers communities and addresses the problems of deforestation, fires and the expansion of the extractive frontier through international integration. It should also articulate regional efforts to stop the expansion of the oil frontier and advocate for the establishment of a moratorium on fossil fuel extraction in the Amazon. In addition, it should promote legal reforms that discourage the expansion of illegal mining and its impacts.   Looking to the future The Amazon rainforest and the potential for regional cooperation to conserve it are at a critical juncture. The point of no return for the Amazon, the point at which the rate of deforestation nullifies its capacity to regenerate, is no longer a future scenario. But at the same time, after several years of little action within ACTO, this year's Amazon Summit and the reactivation of the Amazon Parliament in 2022 renew hope for regional cooperation to conserve the Amazon. In the same vein, the presidents of Brazil and Colombia recently announced their goals to reduce illegal deforestation in the Amazon by 2030. Given the current threats to the Amazon and ACTO's mandate to promote regional cooperation, its member states should seize this moment to provide the organization with more regular and permanent funding. This is necessary to implement effective long-term programs and, in particular, the above-mentioned proposals. Civil society should also take full advantage of opportunities for advocacy with ACTO and its bodies, including participation in the Amazon Dialogues that will take place from August 4 to 6 as a prelude to the Summit. Joint regional and transboundary efforts are powerful enough to save a vital ecosystem for the region and the world.  

Read more
Indigenous Rights

Biodiversity and indigenous languages: one heritage to protect

When we lose words, we don’t know how to name what we see. And if what we see disappears, what do we do with the words we once used? "Words that are not used, are forgotten," wrote young essayist Laura Sofía Rivero. "We say trees because we can't pinpoint what stands before us among all that vast category." Why do we lose these words? There are complex political, historical, economic and educational reasons that have led to what linguist Yásnaya Aguilar of the Ayuujk people in Oaxaca, Mexico has called a "massive death" of languages. Today, species and lifestyles that deserve unique words are disappearing and we are also losing the people who have long known those words. The loss of some is related to the loss of others. The rate at which species and languages are disappearing has accelerated since the beginning of the 20th century. Although there is a whole scientific discussion to agree on a rate of annual biodiversity loss, as there are many variables that are left out, there exists great consensus that we are entering a sixth mass extinction. The same could be said of languages. UNESCO estimates that a language becomes extinct every two weeks—implying that 3,000 languages, mostly indigenous, could be lost before the end of this century. And this is where biodiversity and linguistic diversity meet. In the most biodiverse areas of the planet, 70 percent of existing languages are spoken: 4,800 of the 6,900 spoken worldwide. In Latin America, 80 percent of natural areas encompass or converge with territories inhabited by indigenous peoples. One fact, as surprising as it is alarming, is that 3,202 languages—nearly half of all existing languages—are located in just 35 biodiversity hotspots, defined as places that require our immediate attention and action. A biodiversity hotspot is a region that is home to at least 1,500 species and has lost at least 70 percent of its habitat. Habitat destruction unleashes a chain of impacts ranging from damage to ecological cycles to drastic changes in the lives of those who inhabit these areas. And to do anything, we need to understand the interconnectedness of all the elements that make up biocultural richness. WHAT ARE WE LOSING WITH LANGUAGES?  Words are born because there are fruits, plants, and animals that need to be named. There is a wealth of sounds and rules, where abundance of life is the norm and there are different lifestyles and social organization. Yásnaya Aguilar** has an example for this: in Matlatzinca—spoken in central Mexico—there are four different "we's", in Mixe (Ayuujk) there are two and in Spanish, one. The biodiversity and richness of words is easy to understand when we talk about food, as happens with corn, the essential and basic grain in the Mesoamerican diet. To begin with, the history of the word mahis, whose origin is Taino, a now extinct language spoken in what is now Haiti and the Dominican Republic, is revealing. Each stage of corn cultivation and the ways of processing it have merited their own name in the cultures of the continent. For example, in the Xhon variant of Zapotec*— a language spoken in the mountains of Oaxaca, in southern Mexico— the plant is referred to as xhu'a, corn is called za (when it is cut and fresh) and, when it is already on the cob, yez. In Nahuatl, the most widely spoken native language in Mexico, there is a similar designation. Food is an indicator of biodiversity loss. While there are more than 30 thousand species of plants that can be eaten, we only grow about 150 and almost all the calories consumed in the world come from just 30 species. Many languages have unique words for unique foods (species) that we have not even seen. Imagine what delicacies may be hidden in the 420 different languages spoken by the 522 indigenous peoples that inhabit Latin America. We are losing an understanding of the systems that sustain life on the planet. The recognition of indigenous peoples as guardians of biodiversity and generators of empirical knowledge is very recent in Western science and culture, which is not to say that it has not been valid before. Several sections of the most recent IPCC report include the importance of this knowledge as a key element for preservation and adaptation in the midst of the environmental crises we face. The knowledge exists, but for centuries we have refused to engage in dialogue with it. UNDERSTAND TO PROTECT A few years ago, researchers proposed studying biological, linguistic and cultural diversity together because of the close relationship between them. UNESCO has since introduced the term "biocultural diversity." But to protect it, we must understand its complexity.   What benefits biodiversity in indigenous territories is absolutely necessary to face environmental crises. Data from the US Food and Agriculture Organization demonstrates that: Indigenous territories in Latin America store more carbon than all the forests of Indonesia or Congo, the countries with the most tropical forests after Brazil. Bolivia's Tacana and Leco Apolo indigenous territories are home to two-thirds of all their vertebrate species and 60 percent of their plant species. About 35 percent of Latin America's forests are found in areas inhabited by indigenous peoples. More than 80 percent of the area inhabited by indigenous peoples is covered by forests. In general, indigenous territories report considerably lower rates of deforestation. Unfortunately, this is not the case for Brazil. The Amazon basin has been threatened for years by different extractivist activities, which were supported by the previous government. Particularly, where illegal mining has been installed, deforestation increased 129% since 2013. This situation does not stop there, it is reflected in the very serious humanitarian crisis that was recently declared for the Yanomami people or the situation of insecurity that was revealed with the murder in the middle of the Amazon of the peoples' rights activist Bruno Pereira and the journalist Dom Phillips. Thus, to speak of protecting biodiversity and linguistic diversity becomes an exercise in speaking in defense of territory and environmental defenders; of access to justice, training and the creation of policies that truly integrate and contemplate the complexity of diverse life systems.   * Special thanks for the example in Xhon Zapotec to Ezequiel Miguel of the Proyecto Jaguar podcast that explores the identity elements of indigenous communities. ** To understand more about language preservation as an action for the defense of territory, I recommend reading Ää: manifiestos sobre la diversidad lingüística, by Yásnaya Aguilar, in Editorial Almadía.  

Read more
Indigenous Rights, Capacity Building, Freshwater Sources

Session 2 of the AIDA’s 25th Anniversary Webinar Series

Takeaways for preserving biodiversity and safeguarding the communities that protect it In this second session we discussed the current state of biodiversity in Latin America and the communities that care for it, examining the main threats and opportunities, as well as the urgent measures needed to effectively address the biodiversity crisis and safeguard the rights of indigenous and traditional populations.   Panel Ana Di Pangracio: Director of Biodiversity, Environment and Natural Resources Foundation (Argentina). Robinson Mejía Alonso: Forest engineer and human rights and land defender, Socio-Environmental Youth Collective of Cajamarca (Colombia). Viviana Tinoco Monge: Minister Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Costa Rica to the United Nations in Geneva. Moderators: Claudia Velarde and María José González-Bernat, Coordinators of AIDA's Ecosystems Program.   Recording  

Read more