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We use our limited resources strategically to focus on protecting key species and ecosystems, such as Mexico’s National Wetlands, which host 80% of the Pacific’s migratory birds and absorb twice as much carbon dioxide as a tropical forest of the same size. We also bring legal, scientific, and technical support to communities to strengthen their ability to fight industrial projects that damage their land, air, and water. 

Projects

Fish school Towards an end to subsidies that promote overfishing
Towards an end to subsidies that promote overfishing We support Latin American countries in redesigning their fisheries subsidy programs and in designing fisheries management measures that contribute to sustainable fisheries. Learn More
Andean fauna in Lake Poopó, Bolivia Preserving Bolivia’s High-Andean lakes, sources of life
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. Learn More
Preserving the legacy of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Heart of the World
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. Learn More
Protecting herbivorous fish, to secure a future for corals
Protecting herbivorous fish, to secure a future for corals We support the implementation of effective measures to protect herbivorous fish and ensure the future of coral reefs in Latin America. We do it hand-in-hand with governments, decision makers, civil society organizations and others. Learn More
Mayan women’s struggle before the Inter-American Development Bank in Guatemala
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. Learn More
Supporting Cajamarca’s fight to defend its territory from mining
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. Learn More
Aerial photo of Belo Monte Halting the implementation of large dams in the Americas
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. Learn More
salmon farm in the water in front of a snowcapped mountain in Patagonia Protecting Patagonian Seas from Salmon Farms
Protecting Patagonian Seas from Salmon Farms We're working to protect the pristine seascapes of Southern Patagonia from the rapid expansion of the salmon industry, which has wreaked havoc in other parts of the country due to harmful techniques and the lack of adequate oversight, leading to expansive oceanic dead zones in waters once teaming with life. Learn More
Conserving the Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta
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. Learn More
Defending Mexico's marine biodiversity from deep sea mining
Defending Mexico's marine biodiversity from deep sea mining We're working to protect the habitat of the rich marine life that migrates along the coast of Baja California, including grey whales and sea turtles, by advocating against the implementation of a proposed deep-sea mining project. Learn More
Protecting the Santurban Páramo from mining's damages
Protecting the Santurban Páramo from mining's damages For years we've been leading the fight to protect Colombia's páramos, particularly the Santurbán páramo, from the toxic dangers posed by mining and other extractive industries, which threaten to contaminate the Andean nation's primary sources of fresh water. Learn More
Coral ecosystem in the Gulf of Mexico. | Credit: Manuel Victoria. Defending the Veracruz Reef from a port expansion project
Defending the Veracruz Reef from a port expansion project We're working through international conventions and strategic public outreach to raise awareness of the threats posed to the largest reef system in the Gulf of Mexico by the short-sighted expansion of the Port of Veracruz, a project authorized by the Mexican government without adequate environmental assessment. Learn More
Saving the San Pedro Mezquital River from a destructive large dam
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. Learn More
Protecting the rich marine life of Cabo Pulmo Reef
Protecting the rich marine life of Cabo Pulmo Reef We've been working for decades to protect Cabo Pulmo Reef, an ecological treasure off the coast of Baja California, from irresponsible development and ensure the conservation and sustainable use of its natural resources. Learn More
Holding Brazil accountable for the Belo Monte Dam
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. Learn More

Victories

Plan Colombia: Aerial Spraying in Colombia

Proyectos | 22 June 2015

Victory: Aerial Spraying Stopped in Colombia

For 15 years beginning in 2000, the United States and Colombia sent airplanes to spray toxic pesticides over Colombian coca and poppy fields. The multi-million-dollar program was called Plan Colombia. The pesticides drifted over homes, vegetable fields, livestock, rivers, and forests. Indigenous...read more

Proyectos | 3 June 2015

Victory: Panama Bay is Legally Protected

Panama Bay, one of the world’s most important nesting and roosting sites for migratory birds, is now permanently protected, thanks in part to AIDA’s expertise in international law. The bay supports endangered species, including jaguars and loggerhead turtles, as well as the vast majority of the...read more

Proyectos | 13 December 2013

Victory: Ecuador’s High Court Orders Halt to Contamination from Palm Oil Production

Palm oil plantations are threatening the biodiversity of Chocó, an ancient forest in Ecuador. The companies managing these plantations have caused massive destruction to the forest, endangering rare species and displacing local farmers with near impunity. In September 2007, the Constitutional Court...read more

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