Belize | El Salvador | Guatemala | Honduras | Panama | Mexico

Belize

Canoe Race Reveals the Sad Transformation of the Ruta Maya River

BECOL-sponsored canoe race down the Ruta Maya River

Belize Electricity Company (BECOL), which is part of Fortis Inc., sponsored a canoe race down the Ruta Maya River, which was once pristine and beautiful. Belizeans are being urged to compare the river that once was to the one that exists now as a result of BECOL efforts to generate electricity with new dams. Belizeans pay the highest price for electricity of all people in Central America, and on March 14th, many wrote letters, called in to talk shows and discussed ways to stop these powerful companies and their damaging projects.

Contact

Candy Gonzalez
Email: belpobz [at] starband [dot] net

 

El Salvador

A Worthy Fight to Defend Rivers

The National Movement Against the Projects of Death in El Salvador held protests against dams on March 14th, along with an indigenous ceremony to pay homage to and call for the protection of the Torola River. A forum was also held in the Parque Central del Municipio de Texistepeque.

Contact

El Movimiento Nacional Contra los Proyectos de Muerte en El Salvador
Email: mesopermacultura [at] yahoo [dot] es

 

Roadblock to warn people about dams

Protest in El Salvador (La Prensa)

The National Movement Against Dams and Mining blocked a national road on the 14th to warn passersby about the detrimental impacts of the Cimarron and Chaparral dams and of regional mining projects.

Contact

National Movement Against Dams and Mining
El Salvador

 

 

Forum and march for "Free Rivers and Free Communities!"

In collaboration with other organizations, the National Anti-Dam Movement of El Salvador (MONARES) carried out a forum entitled " Free Rivers, Free Communities" in the municipality of Texistepeque. Participants discussed the ten dam development projects that are in progress, especially Chaparral, which is the largest planned dam and would be built this year. Following the discussion, dam-affected people who had attended the forum marched through the main streets of the city bearing placards with the forum slogan as well as with phrases such as "Water for Life!"

Contact

Ana Raquel
Friends of the Earth - El Salvador
Email: raquel_cesta@ yahoo.com

 

Guatemala

Protecting Water Resources from 70 Potential Hydro-Electric Projects

The Guatemalan Front of Peoples Affected and Threatened by Dams and in Defense of Water (FGARDA) demonstrated peacefully for the duration of the 14th of March against the construction of dams and in defense of water in Guatemala and throughout the world.

Contact

The Guatemalan Front of Peoples Affected and Threatened by Dams and in Defense of Water (FGARDA)
Email: fgarda [at] uol [dot] com [dot] ar

 

Honduras

Protest on the International Day of Action

A demonstration was held in order to voice protest against dam projects in Honduras.

 

Panama

Actions Thwarted by Government Officials

Protest in the Parque La Catedral

Several actions were organized for the Day of Action, but news of the planning prompted the National Police to step in. In spite of this, indigenous Panamanians held an encampment at the Parque La Catedral in the City of Panama to protest the river projects that threaten the integrity of the affected communities. As they protested, they especially drew attention to the need to have water recognized as a right for all.

Contact

Alliance for Conservation and Development (ACD)
Email:acdpanama [at] gmail [dot] com

 

Mexico

Action in Protest of the Parota Dam

The organization CECOP brought communities together to protest the Parota Dam on the 11th annual International Day of Action. This hydro-electric project threatens to displace 25,000 people and flood 17,000 hectares of forest and farming land in Guerrero, Mexico. A document that includes all of the members of the Frente Guerrerense contra la Represión y la Impunidad (FGRI), which includes more than 1000 members, was approved in an assembly in the town of Aguacaliente, the seat of the struggle against the La Parota dam.

Contact

Consejo de Ejidos y Comunidades Opositores a La Presa La Parota (CECOP) - Mexico
Web: www.cecop.coop

 

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For further information, please contact:

Day of Action Coordinator
International Rivers
1847 Berkeley Way
Berkeley, CA 94703 USA
Phone: +1 510-848-1155
Fax: +1 510-848-1008
E-mail: dayofaction [at] internationalrivers [dot] org'