People

Environmental degradation affects individuals and communities in a variety of ways. Toxic pollution creates health problems, large dams displace entire communities, mining and fracking destroys freshwater sources that cities and towns rely on. AIDA pioneered the use of international human rights law to protect environmental resources. We’ve also strengthened international law to protect human rights abuses stemming from environmental destruction.

Related projects

Fazendo com que o Brasil se responsabilize pelos danos da represa Belo Monte

Holding Brazil accountable for the Belo Monte Dam

We're representing affected communities before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in a case calling on Brazil to answer for the gross human rights violations caused from the construction of the Belo Monte Dam on the Xingu River.

Protecting the health of La Oroya's residents from toxic pollution

For two decades we've represented residents of La Oroya in their quest to improve air and water quality in their highly contaminated town, long home to a controversial metal smelter, and to receive adequate medical attention for the damages inflicted by years of pollution.

Halting the implementation of large dams in the Americas

We're advocating before governments, financial institutions and decision-makers to stop the funding and implementation of large dam projects, highly unsustainable energy sources that often carry huge social and environmental costs, and whose implementation aggravates climate change.

Organizing the Network for Environmental Justice in Colombia

We coordinate organizations and legal resources in Colombia by promoting the fair and effective use of international and domestic environmental law, in particular, the right to a healthy environment. Through seminars and strategic public outreach, we facilitate the free and open exchange of legal information and support.

Saving the San Pedro Mezquital River from a destructive large dam

We've partnered with the indigenous communities of Nayarit to protect the last free-flowing river in the Western Sierra Madre Mountains, the San Pedro Mezquital, a sacred river that feeds Mexico's largest mangrove forest and is threatened by the proposed Las Cruces Dam.

Supporting Mayan beekeepers in their struggle against GMO soy

In the forests of Southeastern Mexico, indigenous beekeepers have tended hives for hundreds of years. Passed down through generations, beekeeping is central to the cultural heritage of Mayan communities in the states of Campeche and Yucatan. But now, this heritage is threatened.

Strengthening Protections Through the UN Human Rights System

We're working through United Nations mechanisms to promote and protect the human right to a healthy environment in Latin America, and to increase international pressure on States to respect human rights within their borders.

Conserving the Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta

We're calling on Colombia to respond to the ecological crisis facing the Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta, the nation's largest coastal wetland, and take immediate actions to limit harm and preserve the unique natural area for future generations.

Supporting Cajamarca’s fight to defend its territory from mining

We're providing legal support to the people of Cajamarca, a rural municipality in Colombia that voted to ban all mining from its territory, who face the continued presence of a large-scale open-pit mining project that threatens their land and water.

Mayan women’s struggle before the Inter-American Development Bank in Guatemala

We advise indigenous communities in the micro-region of Ixquisis, Guatemala on how to best defend their water and natural resources from the damages of large dams.

Offering communities scientific support to stop mining’s damages

We share with communities scientific information on the damages of mining, and use it to strengthen our legal actions to stop harmful projects.

Preserving the legacy of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Heart of the World

We support the struggle of the Arhuaco, Kogi, Wiwa and Kankuamo indigenous peoples of Colombia, who seek legal protection for their territory and sacred sites, threatened by mining and other industries.

Seeking justice for communities affected by the Hidroituango dam

We support the complaint process filed by communities in Colombia with the IDB's independent accountability mechanism for the financing of the hydroelectric project.

Preserving Bolivia’s High-Andean lakes, sources of life

We support communities affected by the degradation of the Poopó and Uru Uru lakes with legal strategies to protect their rights and rescue the ecosystems.

When the violation of the rights of Amazonian peoples in Brazil receive no response nationally, these communities find in AIDA a voice in the Americas. I am grateful that you exist.

Felicio Pontes Jr., Attorney, Federal Public Ministry, Brazil