Latin American Herald Tribune - Planned Mexico City Airport Threatens Environment, Senator Says

Latin American Herald Tribune: The new airport to be built in a Mexico City lake system threatens 120 species in the area with extinction, Sen. Alejandro Encinas said.

“The Lake Texcoco area is a flood zone, making it less than ideal for an airport,” Encinas, a member of the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), said in a statement.  Read more. 

Over 100 Groups Call on Obama & Mesoamerican Leaders to Tackle Root Causes of Violence at SICA

By CIP Americas with several others and signed by more than 145 organizations

Dear Honorable:

President Barack Obama

President Enrique Peña Nieto

President Laura Chinchilla

President Otto Pérez Molina

President Porfirio Lobo

President Mauricio Funes

President Daniel Ortega

President Ricardo Martinelli

Attorney General & Minister of Foreign Affairs Wilfred Elrington

April 30, 2013

We, the undersigned civil society organizations from throughout the region, are writing to you on the eve of your meetings in Mexico and at the Summit of the Central American Integration System (SICA) in Costa Rica.We welcome the opportunity for our nations to discuss cooperation on critical cross-border issues and urge our States to address our concerns about the dire human rights crisis in Mesoamerica.

Our organizations have documented an alarming increase in violence and human rights violations. While we recognize that transnational crime and drug trafficking play a role in this violence, we call on our governments to acknowledge that failed security policies that have militarized citizen security have only exacerbated the problem, and are directly contributing to increased human suffering in the region.

It is time to refocus regional dialogue and resource investment to address the root causes of violence,

understanding that for many citizens and communities, drug trafficking is not the principal cause of insecurity. Harmful “development” policies have similarly caused increased conflict and abuses, while forced migration and criminalization of migrants and human rights activists continues to divide families. Most importantly, the region’s challenges must be addressed without violating fundamental rights and human dignity.

Damnation in Patagonia

The New York Times writes a surprisingly damning editorial on plans for a series of major hydroelectric dams in Patagonia today. The editorial goes beyond criticizing the damming of "one of the wildest and most beautiful places on earth" in defense of the Chilean Patagonia region. It also asserts that these giant hydroelectric plants, promoted and defended by the international development banks, should have become a thing of the past by now.

"Building large-scale hydroelectric dams is an old-world way of obtaining energy. It is too late in the environmental life of this planet to accept such ecologically destructive energy solutions or the model of unfettered growth they are meant to fuel. "

Hear, hear. Americas Policy Program partner on issues of biodiversity and sustainable development, the International Rivers Network (http://internationalrivers.org/), is working with local groups to develop an international campaign to save the Patagonia . The hydroelectric project is funded by two private companies--the Italian energy conglomerate Enel and the Chilean wood products firm Matte. It would dam two rivers, the Baker and the Pascua. These rivers run through 14 protected areas and provide habitat for endangered species like the huemul deer. The proposed dams would flood over 10,000 acres of farmland and forests, irreparably destroying the landscape, flora and fauna of a unique region of the planet. Watch for a report on the Patagonia project and how to get involved, soon to be posted on the Americas site. You might also want to check out our series "Re-mapping Latin America's Future."

Patagonia isn't the only place threatened by huge and destructive dam projects and happily it isn't the only place where local people have united with international networks to reject them.

Here in Mexico, indigenous and campesino communities of the southern state of Guerrero have been opposing the construction of the La Parota dam for years. This white elephant has been the darling of successive administrations, financiers and businesses salivating over construction contracts.

But the communities' resistance has so far prevented construction of the over $1 billion-dollar project. Designed to provide energy to Acapulco and local industries, the La Parota dam has been held up by a federal injunction and a constitutional challenge filed by the communities and public-interest lawyers. If built, it would flood 17,000 hectares including communities and archeological sites, and displace 25,000 farmers and their families.

National and regional networks have formed throughout Latin America to oppose damming our rivers and flooding out forests and small farmers. For more information, check out MAPDER and REDLAR.