Energy News
WATER WORLD
In Colombia, a river's 'rights' swept away by mining and conflict
Reuters Events SMR and Advanced Reactor 2025
In Colombia, a river's 'rights' swept away by mining and conflict
By Lina VANEGAS
Choco, Colombia (AFP) Nov 14, 2024

In 2016, a Colombian court sent a powerful statement on environmental protection by ruling that a crucial river in the northwestern Choco jungle, which was being decimated by illegal mining, had legal rights.

The landmark decision, which came the same year the government inked an historic peace deal with the FARC guerrillas who controlled much of Choco, compelled the state to protect the Atrato river, the lifeblood of the region.

A new dawn seemed possible in Colombia's poorest, conflict-scarred department, where dozens of children had died from mercury poisoning due to illegal gold mining in the river.

But eight years later, the Atrato is still dotted with illegal dredging barges that churn up the riverbed in search of gold. New armed groups have filled the void left by FARC fighters. Locals still fear health risks from the river's turbid waters.

The plight of the Atrato underscores the challenges facing conservationists in conflict-ridden areas.

The Atrato snakes 750 kilometers (460 miles) across Choco, from the Andes and through thick jungle to the Caribbean Sea.

In the near absence of paved roads in the region, the river and its tributaries are the main conduits for the transport of people and goods, as well as being a vital source of food.

"It is like an arterial vein... without it, we would not exist," Claudia Rondan, a 41-year-old environmental activist from the Embera Indigenous community, told AFP.

- River is 'sick' -

Rondan is one of 14 leaders from riverside communities who act as "guardians" of the Atrato, helping to ensure compliance with the 2016 court ruling.

But she feels powerless to revive a waterway she describes as "sick."

Ramon Cartagena, a 59-year-old environmentalist and guardian near the river's source in El Carmen de Atrato, is equally despairing.

"There is no life at all in the river," he said.

"Our parents left us ... a translucent, clear river, and today we have an obligation to do the same and I think we are failing."

The Atrato starts at 3,900 meters (12,800 feet) above sea level in the Western Cordillera, the lowest branch of the Colombian Andes.

At the source, the water is crystal clear and fit for drinking.

But by the time it widens out near Choco's main city of Quibdo, its fast-flowing, murky waters are laced with mercury, a key ingredient in gold mining that has been blamed for the deaths of dozens of children in the past decade.

Colombia is the country worst affected worldwide by mercury pollution, a UN report found in 2018.

In Quibdo, fishmongers complain they can't find buyers for their catch, because residents fear being poisoned.

Arnold Rincon, director of the local environmental authority, insists that the river's mercury levels are safe.

But Jose Marrugo, an expert in mercury pollution at the University of Cordoba, in northern Colombia, said some villagers show signs of "chronic poisoning."

- Look the other way -

As of mid-September 2024, the military has destroyed 334 illegal mining machines in the Atrato river.

But the dredging continues regardless.

On a visit to the region earlier this year, AFP saw several ramshackle mining rafts on the river.

"People are afraid to report it, everyone remains silent," Bernardino Mosquera, another of Atrato's guardians, told AFP.

That includes the river's custodians. They say they have received death threats for combating illegal mining.

Colombia is the most dangerous country in the world for environmental activists, with 361 killed since 2018, the Colombian peace foundation Pares said in a report last month.

The judge who endowed the Atrato with basic rights, Jorge Ivan Palacio, has blamed "a lack of political will" and corruption for the state's failure to properly implement the ruling.

In a damning indictment, Colombia's Ombudsman's Office, which oversees the protection of civil and human rights, said there was "no evidence of any kind of progress towards effective conservation" in the region since 2016.

Related Links
Water News - Science, Technology and Politics

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
WATER WORLD
Drinking water outage hits half of France's Mayotte
Mamoudzou (AFP) Nov 12, 2024
Around half the people in the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte were without potable water Tuesday after a "technical incident" at a treatment plant, a local authority said in a statement. The "event of electrical origin" at the Ouroveni plant overnight from Monday to Tuesday "is leading to water cuts mostly located in the centre and south" of Mayotte's main island Grande Terre, the prefecture said. Around half of Mayotte's population of 320,000 depends on Ouroveni's daily output of up to ... read more

WATER WORLD
China launches new set of remote-sensing satellites

Microplastics influence cloud formation, potentially shaping weather and climate

UChicago scientist crafts new model to enhance forecasting of atmospheric rivers

Satellite imagery offers a way to shield coastal forests from climate impacts

WATER WORLD
N. Korea jams GPS signals, affecting ships, aircraft in South

Successful demo showcases BAE Systems' next-gen M-Code GNSS technology

BeiDou remote sensing experiment enhances ecological monitoring in Yellow River

Aerodata earns EASA certification for GPS anti-jamming and anti-spoofing tech

WATER WORLD
EU deforestation ban in chaos as parliament loosens rules

How forest density affects tree movement and resilience

Drowning mangroves in Maldives signal global coastal risk

Brazilian Indigenous leader warns world on Amazon's fate

WATER WORLD
Sacred cow: coal-hungry India eyes bioenergy to cut carbon

Waste heat from London sewers eyed to warm UK parliament

Bio-based fibers may have greater environmental impact than traditional plastics

Cobalt copper tandem catalysts transform CO2 into renewable ethanol

WATER WORLD
'Solar Great Wall' aims to power Beijing and curb desertification by 2030

Tech's green wave hits choppy waters

KAIST researchers improve hybrid perovskite solar cells with enhanced infrared capture

Investigating limitations in new materials for perovskite solar cells

WATER WORLD
Sweden blocks 13 offshore wind farms over defence concerns

Sweden's defence concerned by planned offshore wind power

On US coast, wind power foes embrace 'Save the Whales' argument

Renewables revolt in Sardinia, Italy's coal-fired island

WATER WORLD
UK government announces ban on new coal mines

S. Africa offers a lesson on how not to shut down a coal plant

Can carbon credits help close coal plants?

Despite progress, China remains tethered to coal as climate change pressures mount

WATER WORLD
China removes memorials to victims of deadliest attack in a decade

China battles rare wave of violent crime as economic woes bite

Chinese slimmers trim down at weight-loss camps

China's Myanmar consulate hit with explosive device: Junta chief to visit China next month

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.