Project
Photo: Carlos AguileraProtecting the rich marine life of Cabo Pulmo Reef
Cabo Pulmo Reef, a 20,000-year-old ecological treasure in Baja California Sur, Mexico, hosts many of the 800 marine species in the Sea of Cortez.
Overfishing almost killed it in the 1980s. But the Mexican government intervened in 1995 to declare it a national park. Since then, the reef has grown, and the surrounding ecosystem has prospered.
Developers repeatedly try to build enormous tourist resorts at Cabo Pulmo. The proposed resorts typically include tens of thousands of hotel rooms, golf courses, an airport, sports clubs, and more—and require new housing development for thousands of employees.
Coral reefs like Cabo Pulmo are extremely vulnerable to the impacts of such poorly planned development. Sewage and wastewater runoff cause a surge in the growth of algae that blocks sunlight, causing the reef to bleach and die.
Fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides from golf courses contaminate ocean currents and upset the delicate ecological balance of the area. Boating, fishing, and diving stress and break reefs, too.
In an area where water is scarce, tourism infrastructure projects could overexploit aquifers that are already suffering the impacts of climate change.
AIDA's work has been instrumental in ensuring the survival and health of Cabo Pulmo's ecosystems. We continue monitoring the situation and working with national partners to make legal protections for the reef stronger and permanent.
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Welcome!
Each year, representatives of a variety of nations unite with one purpose: to spur international action to combat climate change. However, in the 20 years that these meetings have been taking place, the international community has yet to reach a definitive agreement. The topics covered are many, but the most important demands are that the nations commit to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, and that they assist in the creation of a joint economic fund that will help to mitigate the impacts of climate change in developing countries. With the purpose of informing and representing civil society, AIDA‘s team will be present in Lima to take part in the activities of the COP20 and the People’s Summit. We will be closely following the themes of climate finance, the Green Climate Fund, human rights and climate change, dams and fracking. Thank you for following along with us! Archivado en: English, Noticias
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Revealing the Impact of Development on Human Rights and the Environment
"There we were – men and women, boys and girls, elders and community leaders – who dared to reject the burning of our homes on the river’s edge, the theft and loss of our things, the mistreatment, the insults, the humiliation from the police, the Army and public companies of Medellín, who forcibly emptied the river banks to make way for development." With these words, Isabel Cristina Zuleta gave testimony before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights last month, describing the situation that she and thousands of Colombians have been suffering through. Zuleta, the leader of Movimiento Rios Vivos (Living Rivers Movement), is a victim of forced displacement – caused by the Hidroituango hydroelectric project in Colombia – and she is not alone. AIDA’s Co-Executive Director Astrid Puentes participated in the hearing alongside Rios Vivos, Tierra Digna, Asoquimbo, Comisión Intereclesial de Justicia y Paz, Corporación Jurídica Libertad, and other partner organizations from Colombia. She argued before the Commission that, in Colombia, forced displacement caused by development projects, such as mines and dams, is not recognized as a human rights violation by the State, which leaves affected communities unprotected. During the hearing Puentes introduced the three primary causes of forced displacement from these projects: the close relationship between armed conflict and major development projects; the flexibility and violation of rules in their authorization and implementation; and the direct impacts of their operation. She asked the Commission to urge the Colombian State to guarantee rights to the victims, repair damages, and take appropriate measures to prevent displacement in the future. Puentes described human rights violations caused by specific projects, such as El Quimbo dam, which displaced hundreds of families in Huila Department, and coal mines in La Jagua de Ibirico, in Cesar Department, where air pollution displaced entire communities. The inadequate implementation of development projects in Colombia, and in the region, also violates Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR), especially the right to a healthy environment. In this regard, AIDA and organizations from the region participated in a hearing called by the Commission to analyze the situation of ESCR on the continent. In it, Maria José Veramendi Villa, a senior AIDA attorney, noted that States mainly fail to protect the right to a healthy environment by implementing mining, energy, and infrastructure projects. The problem has only worsened in recent years. "The Commission has found different manifestations of this problem over the course of at least 40 hearings, conducted over the last decade, which have illustrated the serious territorial, cultural, and environmental conflicts created by the violations of ESCR," said Veramendi during the hearing. We need an Inter-American Human Rights Commission that is firm and decided in its position towards development projects that violate human rights and that brings justice to those who cannot find it in their countries.
Read moreSeeking Solutions at the UN Climate Conference
The most important global meeting on climate change is nearing, and expectations are high. The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP20), in Lima December 1-12, is expected to conclude with a draft of a new global agreement on climate change, which will be signed in 2015. The conference also provides a key opportunity to hold nations to the financial commitments they made at prior conferences. AIDA is attending the conference with two main objectives. First, we will advocate full funding of the Green Climate Fund. Second, we will contribute to the conversation to ensure that the new climate agreement takes into account the impact of climate change on human rights. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change established the Green Climate Fund to finance programs and projects for climate change adaptation and mitigation. Countries most vulnerable to climate change will be given investment priority. “We want specific commitments to be made, with clarity about the road map that develop countries should follow so that their fight against climate change has sustainable financial assistance,” said Andrea Rodriguez, senior attorney at AIDA. To date, the Green Climate Fund has received $9.6 billion in pledges. At the Lima conference, we aim to generate additional commitments that raise the total to $15 billion. We will also work with governments to ensure that they live up to their commitment to contribute $100 billion a year, starting in 2020, to ensure that resources are predictable and sustainable. AIDA will work with global networks like Climate Action Network International (CAN-I) to monitor financial contributions. AIDA, together with partner organizations is organizing a Latin America and the Caribbean Climate Finance Day on Saturday the 6th of December. This event will convene stakeholders from various sectors to facilitate dialogue and build capacity on key climate finance issues affecting the region. One of the sessions will address the role of the Green Climate fund in contributing to transformational change in Latin America. “Leveraging the context of climate talks, we would like to remind the decision makers that methods of mitigating climate change must be truly sustainable and efficient,” Rodriguez stated. “Mitigation efforts should not promote projects like large dams, which have been considered a source of clean energy, despite the fact that they emit large amounts of climate-forcing methane, especially in the tropics.” The conference will provide an opportunity for AIDA to work with negotiators to ensure that human rights considerations, which were recognized in previous climate agreements, make it into the next agreement. Alongside COP20, we will participate in the People’s Summit on Climate Change, a major alternative gathering of civil society organizations. In this meeting, AIDA will discuss hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and its implications for the environment of Latin America and for global climate. We will be posting updates throughout the conference on our website, Facebook and Twitter. Follow along!! #RoadToCOP20
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