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How real action on environmental justice comes from Latin America’s community alliances (commentary)

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The Escazú Agreement was seen as a real breakthrough when it came into force in April 2021, and is the only binding treaty to have emerged from the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro in 2012. Negotiated between nations in Latin America and the Caribbean, it was the first agreement in the world designed to protect environmental defenders and to promote public participation and access to information and justice in environmental matters. Such an initiative is much needed: Latin America and the Caribbean have seen intense environmental degradation in recent decades and those who defend its natural riches are at extreme risk, with the region considered the deadliest in the world for environmental defenders. But the agreement has not lived up to its promises. Although it was initially signed by 25 nations, it was only ratified by 16 and among those who have still not ratified it are some of the most dangerous for environmental defenders, notably: Brazil, Peru and Guatemala. Even supportive nations are failing to deliver. After ratifying the agreement in 2020, Ecuador restructured its Ministry of Environment, Water and Ecological Transition to include units dedicated to public participation and the protection of environmental defenders. However, calls from local groups in Napo, a province in the Ecuadorian rainforest, for the authorities to protect the rivers from mercury – a poisonous heavy metal miners use to extract gold – are falling on deaf ears. Confluence of the Piatara and Jatunyaku rivers, which Kichwa communities in Napo Province depend…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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