Tag Archive for: Bajo Grande

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LETTER TO THE INTENDENT MARTÍN LLARYORA: We need policies that address the problems of our city

Following the opportunity represented by the change of management at the municipal level, we want to express ourselves on key issues for the future of our city. Therefore, we jointly address other Cordoba organizations to the new Mayor of Córdoba, Martín Llaryora, with the aim of making recommendations regarding structural problems that cause serious damage to human rights.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

Within the framework of the assumption of the new municipal management, there are unattended situations for years that need an urgent response. Through an open letter, we announce in ten points what these problems are and we make ourselves available to the new cabinet to work in an articulated way.

The ten points are summarized in:

  1. Environmental and health emergency in the Chacras de la Merced neighborhood
  2. Solid Urban Waste
  3. Urban Planning and Development
  4. Gender parity in the cabinet
  5. Trans labor inclusion and quota law
  6. Access to Legal Disruption of Pregnancy in Primary Care Centers
  7. Application of the Micaela law
  8. Access to public information
  9. Healthy school environments
  10. Smoke-free environments and protection of the non-smoker

These are 10 points, which are not exhaustive or exclusive of other problems, but require an urgent response because of the critical situations they represent. We hope that in the next 4 years we can articulate a joint work to continue advancing in the fulfillment of the human rights of the Cordoba community.

Access the full letter

Contact

Carolina Tamagnini, carotamagnini@fundeps.org

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We urge the Municipality to comply with the Bajo Grande Mitigation Plan

Given the facts of public knowledge related to the report of the Environmental Police Directorate of the province of Córdoba regarding the malfunction of the Edar Bajo Grande plant, we insist on the claim presented in May of this year, by Fundeps with Las Omas and neighbors of the neighborhoods Chacras de la Merced, Villa La Merced, Ciudad Mi Esperanza and Parque 9 de Julio against the mayor Ramón Mestre, requesting a hearing this time in order to seek alternatives to solve the problem.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

On May of the current year, we presented together with neighbors from different neighborhoods immersed in the problem of Chacras de la Merced, an administrative complaint. In this, we demanded that the Municipality of Córdoba Municipality comply with the mitigation plan prepared by the municipality itself to temper and correct the problems that afflict said area of ​​our city due to environmental degradation mainly from the Purification Station of Wastewater of Bajo Grande (hereinafter Edar).

Due to the lack of responses by the Intendancy, and to the facts of public knowledge about a report by the Environmental Police Directorate of the Province that again highlights the malfunction of the Edar plant, and the consequent contamination environmental that this causes, is that we insist on that claim. In turn, considering the next change of government and the urgency required to address the problem, we request a hearing from the Administration in order to bring perspectives, evidence and alternatives to address the problem tending to achieve respect for rights. fundamental humans who are currently affected.

Likewise, in the insistence claim we once again realized the serious situation that affects Chacras de la Merced, mainly related to health conditions in the communities and socio-environmental conditions that make it difficult to develop their life plan. Situation that is recognized by the Municipality of Córdoba at least since 2014 when it declared for the first time the environmental and sanitary emergency of the EDAR plant and the areas located downstream, status that remains to this day. In the same way, we reiterate the request to make public the information about the tasks carried out by the Municipality in relation to the Mitigation Plan, which has not been provided before repeated requests for access to public information submitted by Fundeps.

The systematic and continuous aggravation of the living conditions of the population of Chacras de la Merced linked to environmental degradation caused by the Edar, and the inaction of the Municipality, who, with its omission, consolidates day-to-day human rights involvement, is that again we demand a definitive solution to the problem of those who suffer from forgetting and environmental discrimination in the city of Córdoba.

On the other hand, and in relation to the problem, we submit a request for access to public information before the Environmental Police Directorate in order to request the Report made by said agency in which it reports Edar’s malfunction. Said report was presented to the Municipality of Córdoba as it transcended, but was not publicized, even before the relevance and public interest that it has while the samples collected by the Environmental Police of the liquids that enter and are discharged without treatment to the River are analyzed. Drought and that, as it transpired, show the serious environmental damage caused by Edar.

More information

Contact

Juan Bautista López, juanbautistalopez@fundeps.org

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We participated in a talk about the problem of Chacras de la Merced in the Siglo XXI University

On Friday, May 24, a talk was organized by the Environmental Law Chairs of the Lawyer’s career and the Social Sustainability Center of the Siglo XXI University, in which members of the Omas de Chacras de la Merced Organization participated. and the Fundeps environment team.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

During the meeting, members of the Omas organization reported the structural and environmental problems that have been affecting the Chacras de la Merced district for years, the current situation and the strategies adopted. From Fundeps, we share the actions carried out throughout these years, the legal and advocacy tools used in public policies, and the possible strategies to follow in the face of lethargic, if not non-existent, action by the Municipal, Provincial States. and National.

The articulation between diverse actors was shaped as a fundamental pillar in the struggle for the respect of human rights, from the contributions that each civil society organization can provide for such purposes. Then, the students participated together with the teachers, expressing their concerns, reflections and contributions from a human rights and environmental perspective.

We appreciate the invitation made by the Siglo XXI University through the chairs of environmental law of the career of Advocacy and its Social Sustainability Center. We consider propitious these spaces of encounter and debate, not only for the articulation of actions of incidence and fight in pursuit of the environment, but as spaces of reflection and commitment with those problems that afflict certain sectors of our society, by those who for years we participate in them, and of those students who in the near future will be part of the fight for the right.

Contact:

Juan Bautista Lopez – juanbautistalopez@fundeps.org

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We demand from the Municipality of Córdoba compliance with the Mitigation Plan of the Bajo Grande EDAR

Along with the Omas and neighbors of the Chacras de la Merced neighborhoods, Villa La Merced, Ciudad Mi Esperanza and Parque 9 de Julio, we filed a complaint against the mayor Ramón Mestre in which we denounced the non-compliance with the mitigation plan for the Bajo WWTP Large and the neighborhoods located downstream and we demand their effective execution.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

The communities of Chacras de la Merced, Villa La Merced, Ciudad Mi Esperanza and Parque 9 de Julio, live a few meters away from the sewage treatment plant in the city of Córdoba on the banks of the Suquía river, and have been living with pollution for years. of water, air and soil due to the poor functioning of the Bajo Grande plant.

Derived from this contamination, neighbors must face every day an infinity of problems, the most serious being those related to health (skin, respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases). Similarly, the environment vitiated by the smell of cloacal water overturned raw, makes life more difficult in that place.

The contamination problem of the Suquía river as a direct consequence of the excess of sewage liquids, by virtue of the dumping with minimal treatments or without treatments, carried out by the Bajo Grande WWTP is public knowledge. Even recognized by the Municipality of Córdoba at least since 2014 when it declares for the first time the environmental and sanitary emergency of the EDAR plant and of the areas located downstream. The measure was extended every year being the last extension in the past month of November.

Within the framework of this emergency, the Intendant implemented a Mitigation Plan by virtue of which a number of actions are entrusted to different areas of the Municipality of Córdoba to mitigate the effects of the pollution produced by the plant on the population, particularly in the Suquía and surrounding areas.

The departments included are the Secretariat of Government, Citizen Participation and Social Development, the General Secretariat, the Public Services Secretariat, the Ministry of Health and the Secretariat of Planning and Infrastructure.

Regarding the mitigation measures contemplated in the plan, these are: a) Update of the socioeconomic survey of the affected population downstream of the plant; b) Update of the survey of the health status of the population; c) Distribution of safe drinking water for different uses in areas where provision by network is not possible; d) Preventive sanitary cord; e) Management of the effluents of the E.D.A.R. Under Large; e) Resource monitoring plan and f) Awareness campaign.

Last year, we presented together with Alida Weht, neighbor of the Chacras de las Merced district and member of the Las Omas Civil Association, requests for information addressed to these Secretariats, so that they could inform us about the status of the Mitigation Plan, without receiving answer. Therefore, this year we insist on the orders, as it is public information to which every citizen has the right to access and the Municipal State has the obligation to make known, not only because the actions committed by the municipality have an impact on the health and quality of life of the people living in the neighborhoods surrounding the plant, but of all the people of Cordoba as the Suquía river – at least at one time – one of the sources of most important drinking water in the entire province.

The only distribution that responded was the Ministry of Health and it did so deficiently and with information that does not fit with the reality that exists in the community of Chacras de la Merced.

Motivated by this, and the lack of execution of the successive mitigation plans, is that together with the Omas andneighbors of the neighborhoods located downstream of the plant, we initiated a claim against the Municipality of Córdoba denouncing each of these breaches and demanding their adequate and effective execution.

With respect to the health needs of the area, the deficient infrastructure of the neighborhood Health Center is denounced, which lacks adequate facilities for patient care; It has only two rooms, the spaces are very small, there is no heating, there is only one doctor who can not supply it and he attends only in the morning, sometimes there are not enough medicines to deal with tracer diseases in the area, particularly dermatitis, which leads to the people of the neighborhoods tending to naturalize their ailments due to the deficient medical attention provided by the municipality.

Another of the mitigation measures whose compliance is required is the “Awareness Campaign” under the responsibility of the Ministry of Health – DAPS and the Directorate of Sanitary and Gas Networks. The actions included are: a) Continue actions in favor of improving the communication of environmental risks, b) Continue with informative and educational talks to the school population of the sector and c) Installation of informative posters on the risk of use and consumption of the river water. None of these actions has been carried out, there is widespread misinformation in the sector about the real risks of contamination of the Suquía River. In addition, all along the path of Chacra de la Merced there is a single sign in the area warning that it is forbidden to bathe in the river. In any case, such ignorance is that children continue to bathe in certain sectors of the Suquía and in the lagoons, putting their health and their lives at risk.

In addition, it is reported that there are sectors of the Chacras de la Merced neighborhood where there is no potable water network. Neighbors and neighbors are forced to connect in an irregular manner to the only network that is exclusive to the Bajo Grande WWTP plant, which is also not safe water. Taking into account the health and environmental crisis declared in the area by the pollution of the Suquía River, it is inadmissible that the population lacks safe drinking water.

In short none of the mitigation measures is or has been adequately met by the municipality, which leads to the emergency being extended every 180 days, becoming a formal declaration without being able to give the affected communities a structural solution and definitive to the environmental and health problems that have been going on for years.

The area where these communities are located 40 years ago was part of the “greenbelt” of the city of Córdoba, from there came the fruits and vegetables that supplied the markets, jobs now prohibited by the high levels of contamination of the Suquía River. The neglect of the State transformed this area into a marginal community, with multiple sources of contamination (quarries, tanneries, garbage), which every day struggles to survive and to fight for its human rights to health, a healthy environment and life , all this despite the indifference of the municipal authorities.

The expansion works of the EDAR plant and the refunctioning of the current one, do not matter the improvement of the quality of life of the people who live downstream of the plant. Nor do they result in the termination of the environmental and sanitary state of emergency in the area, while the mitigation actions have not been carried out by the Municipality of Córdoba, which is why we demand that the Mayor take the corresponding measures so that execute the Mitigation Plan prepared for the Bajo Grande plant and the zones located downstream.

The municipality has a pending debt with the population of this sector of the city, and therefore we demand a definitive solution to the contamination of the Suquía River and especially for the guarantee of the rights of those who have been affected.

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Bajo Grande and Jerónimo de la Gente: A prize that seeks to cover a problem of years?

On April 6, the award ‘Jerónimo de la Gente’ was presented in the city of Córdoba and it was the Civil Association ‘Las Omas’, who won the first place after the vote. The recognition seeks to distinguish a citizen, citizen, or grouping of citizenship; whose work in Córdoba seeks in some way to address social problems.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

Las Omas, an organization established in the Chacras de la Merced neighborhood, since 2011 has been dedicated to the assistance of neighbors living in poverty and violence. At the same time, its president, Alida Weht, has been the one who has taken the bastion of the fight against pollution caused by the malfunction of the Sewage Treatment Plant of Córdoba.

The prize that Las Omas received is a distinction for their tireless work to improve the situation of women in the neighborhood, but little has been mentioned in the media about their immense work, to improve and protect the environment that surrounds them. Mayor Mestre has recognized Las Omas on the one hand, but on the other, he has not done anything to help them end the problems derived from pollution.

A few weeks ago, it became known that the Municipality of Córdoba admitted that the plant is not in perfect condition and that it is operating at 60%. Likewise, Daniel Bardagi, Director of Sanitary and Gas Networks, promised that in the next few days the plant would be fully operational.

This position of the Municipality collides directly with what is expressed by the employees who are working in the WWTP, and who have declared that the plant under no circumstances is able to operate at 100%. In addition, they have declared that the liquid that enters the station is not treated in any way and the conditions in which it enters are the same that it has when it is dumped into the Suquía River.

These comings and goings between the Municipality and employees of the plant, are not new and do nothing but dilate a situation that has long been unsustainable. The lack of responsibility of the municipal government and the desire to hide a reality that is visible so many years ago, has become a community of people who today are in a situation of extreme vulnerability.

Similarly, the problem of pollution is not only limited to the area of ​​the city of Córdoba. It has been verified that the unloadings in crude have arrived at least and safely to Capilla de los Remedios. Moreover, the samples taken and evaluated by the National University of Córdoba (UNC) show that the bacteria and coliforms present in the water 36 km from Bajo Grande, are in practically the same amounts and concentration as when they leave plant. Also, there may be evidence that contamination has reached the mouth of the Primero River in the Laguna de Mar Chiquita.

Derived from this contamination, neighbors of Chacras must face every day a myriad of problems, most of which are related to health (skin, respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases). Similarly, the environment vitiated by the smell of cloacal water overturned raw, makes life more difficult in that place.

From the Municipality of Córdoba has been announced that in the coming days and weeks will be bidding three refurbishment works in the plant for almost 300 million pesos. These spare parts correspond to the failure of the mitigation plans assumed each year by the successive municipal administrations. According to Federico Kopta, of the Córdoba Environmental Forum, these spare parts and the expansion of the plant that is in progress will not be able to reverse or mitigate the current contamination situation, as long as the necessary controls on the sewage network are not carried out.

After years of claims, we have again asked the authorities to recognize the problem and take action on the matter. The situation of vulnerability that lives in the community located next to the purification station is, today, unsustainable and degrading. The Jerónimo de la Gente award, has managed to recognize the tireless work of Las Omas, but has not been able to cover a problem that they must face each and every one of their days. After this award, there should be a commitment of officials to families in that area and the environment of all inhabitants of the province of Cordoba.

Sources

Contact

María Pérez Alsina – mariaperezalsina@fundeps.org

Agustina Palencia – agustinapalencia@fundeps.org

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#WeWantToBreathe: A campaign against pollution in the Suquía River

Neighbors and neighbors of Capilla de los Remedios join the claims for contamination of the Suquía River due to the poor functioning of the Sewage Treatment Plant (WWTP). The campaign #QueremosRespirar reflects the desperate request of the inhabitants who seek that this situation be reversed immediately.

The reclamation of the neighborhood grouping, adds to the historical protest that the families of the district Chacras de la Merced have taken ahead to stop the indiscriminate contamination of the river.

On Monday, April 9, the inhabitants of Capilla de los Remedios will demonstrate in front of the Municipality of the City of Córdoba, to demand from the mayor the urgent taking of measures. Pedro Frank, a neighbor and one of the leaders of the campaign, spoke about the unsustainable nature of living around the river. Sickening odors, gastrointestinal and respiratory problems; are some of the consequences that could be attributed to pollution (an image very similar to what the neighbors describe in the Chacras de la Merced neighborhood). Pedro, said that they have been receptive to meet both the Municipal Government and the Provincial. From both sides have responded that contamination is impossible to relate directly to the plant, since it works in perfect conditions. However, during 2017, employees of EDAR were blunt when they said that the plant is under-supplied, defective and that it works less than 20%. They also mentioned that the liquid is not treated and that during the 24 hours a day it is dumped in the river.
As a result of this, the position of the government authorities, who seem not to want to see what is in front of their eyes and the eyes of all citizens, becomes incomprehensible.

This situation, which dates back to the late 1980s and to which FUNDEPS has referred on numerous occasions, seems to have no end. The escalation of pollution caused by a plant in defective conditions, has had a direct impact on the main river of the Province and has its outlet in the Laguna de Mar Chiquita. On the banks of this river settle numerous localities that today begin to see the effects of years and years of state negligence. Also, it is of special relevance to highlight the main role and responsibility of the Provincial and Municipal governments to mitigate and / or definitively remedy this situation.

What happens is public knowledge, and government authorities have not reacted in a timely manner to avoid what is happening now. At the legal level, numerous cases have been initiated and have sentences in favor of the residents of Chacras de la Merced, forcing the State to reverse the damage. After numerous requests for execution of sentence, the inaction of the Municipality is evident in the environmental risk of these days. Similarly, since 2014 the environmental and sanitary emergency has been consistently declared in the Bajo Grande WWTP and in the area located downstream, including the Chacras neighborhood, and there have been no concrete measures demonstrating the government’s willingness to assist those they are affected From FUNDEPS, we recently requested information to know the status of the latest decree declaring the health emergency. According to the testimonies of the neighbors of Chacras de la Merced, little and nothing has been done to address the situation.

Both the neighbors of Chacras de la Merced and of Capilla de los Remedios are in a situation of complete violation of their rights. We renew again the claim for a definitive solution to the pollution of the Suquía River and especially for the guarantee of the rights of those who have been affected. #We want to Breathe.

 

More information:

They will protest in front of the Municipality of Córdoba for the contamination of the Suquía
Chapel of the Remedies: neighbors denounce pollution
In Capilla de los Remedios, the river is as polluted as a sewer

Information requests for the Mitigation Plan of the Bajo Grande plant

Author:
Agustina Palencia
Contact:
María Pérez Alsina – mariaperezalsina@fundeps.org
Agustina Palencia – agustinapalencia@fundeps.org

Participation in the public hearing for the expansion of the Bajo Grande sewage plant

On Wednesday, December 7, the government of the province of Córdoba called a public hearing to announce the Environmental Impact Study (EIA) corresponding to the expansion of the current Sewage Treatment Plant (WWTP) And the construction of new main collectors. The participation of FUNDEPS included the presentation of a technical-legal report that marked certain inconsistencies identified when analyzing the EIA and knowing the antecedents of strong impacts in the zone.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”

With only three people registered, on Wednesday, December 7, 2016, a public hearing was held, convened by the Secretariat of the Environment and Climate Change of the province of Córdoba, whose purpose was to publicize the Environmental Impact Study (EIA) On the expansion of the Sewage Treatment Plant in the city of Córdoba. It should be noted that this process had little diffusion and was carried out very far from the area of ​​influence more significant and more affected by the project (Barrio Chacras de la Merced). This fact violates the provisions of Art. 63 of Provincial Law 10.208 of Environmental Policy which establishes that these instances of participation must be carried out in the area most closely linked to the public decision in question.

The Bajo Grande Wastewater Treatment Plant (EDAR) plant was built at the end of the 1960s, on the banks of the Suquía River, and is located in the 2 ½ km of the road called Chacras de la Merced, at the eastern end of the City of Córdoba. It was inaugurated in 1987, being under the control and control of the Municipality of Cordoba in the year 1990. From the end of the nineties, the operation of the plant of Low Good EDAR was deteriorating, obtaining that today, the It has a limited capacity in the treatment of sewage, which generates a constant focus of contamination.

The problem of contamination of this plant is public knowledge by the presentation of complaints, lawsuits, news reports and even formal acknowledgments by officials of the province and the municipality of Cordoba. At a technical level, expert reports by the National University of Cordoba have determined that the treatment of cloacal liquids of Bajo Grande has important faults, both in the processing and in the operation of the equipment that it owns. This results in high contamination rates of the Suquía river, which directly receives the effluents generated by these deficiencies in the treatment. For some time, together with the organization Las Omas, we have been claiming for public information on health and environmental indicators that allow us to assess (and correct) this pollution situation.

From the above it is understood the need to invest in the current plant and to make the situation capable of being reversed. However, following the reading and presentation of the EIA, certain inconsistencies arise that, if not taken into account, far from improving the current situation of the plant, could aggravate the existing negative environmental impacts.

  • In our brief presented during the hearing we emphasize some points:
  • Inconsistencies regarding the treatment capacity of the plant.
  • Inadequate treatment of environmental risks, in an area that has historically suffered the consequences of river pollution.
  • Failure to strengthen control bodies in the city to facilitate the work of the Bajo Grande WWTP plant.
  • Absence of plan for monitoring the work and mitigation of impacts.

Also during the hearing could be heard phrases such as: “… close to the sewage plant there are no stable populations,” calling into question the real commitment of government authorities to the residents of Chacras de la Merced and the problems In which they are immersed as a result of the malfunction of the plant.

From FUNDEPS, we consider that a thorough evaluation by the Ministry of the Environment as a comptroller of the present project is crucial, noting all the considerations set out during the hearing. Likewise, the necessary mechanisms must be available to comply with the expected legal and environmental parameters in order to protect the fundamental rights of the inhabitants of the city of Cordoba and in particular those of the district of Chacras de las Merced.

More information

Contact

Agustina Palencia, agustinapalencia@fundeps.org

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Studies show environmental degradation and government neglect in Chacras de la Merced

During the month of December 2016, the Foundation for the Development of Sustainable Policies decided to carry out a survey process in the neighborhood of Chacras de la Merced, in order to obtain accurate information about the state of situation of the community there.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”

Since 2015, FUNDEPS has been working with the recently mentioned neighborhood of the City of Cordoba, in relation to the problems of the sewage treatment plant (WWTP). The proven malfunction of the plant, located in the area since 1984, has caused numerous problems in the nearby population, as well as in the ecosystem there.

The purpose of this survey process was to be able to discover the perception of the neighbors of the neighborhood with respect to the plant, as well as of other problems that they could identify as an emergency. The instrument used was intended to compile the perception of the community of Chacras de la Merced about the operation of the sewage treatment plant, the environmental situation of the area, the performance of the government authorities towards the neighborhood and its interest Engage in control activities.

In this sense, within the results obtained, below are presented those of greater relevance.

An 83% (44 families) does not feel calm with the environmental situation of the district Chacras de la Merced.

Five issues were mentioned and respondents were asked to prioritize among themselves, establishing from 1 to 5 the urgency with which they believed they should be addressed by government authorities. Of the total families surveyed, 34 (64%) of them gave the number 1 priority and urgency to the pollution caused by the sewage treatment plant.

The respondents were then asked whether or not they knew the work that EDAR does, and 58.8% said they did not know with certainty the work and operation of the WWTP. 50.9% said he was very badly informed about the issues that relate to the operation of the plant. Consistent with this, 79.2% of neighbors said they do not trust the information provided by the municipality of Cordoba on the operation of the plant.

Notwithstanding the lack of knowledge, 86% consider that the plant is not functioning properly; And opined in reference to the factor considered to cause malfunction. 37.2% of the respondents said that the plant does not work properly due to lack of municipal controls that verify the correct functioning. Likewise, 46.5% consider that the malfunction of the plant causes the immediate contamination of the river.

He wondered about the confidence that respondents had in certain institutions and organizations. Entrepreneurs, the provincial government, the municipal government, the police, the legislature, the judiciary, political parties, trade unions and the national government receive nothing from the neighbors of Chacras de la Merced. Private and public universities; Environmental organizations, social organizations, religious institutions, and the media are receptive to the trust of neighbors. The neighbors opined, undoubtedly with 77% (41 families), who do not trust EDAR.

It is important to note that 76.9% of the neighbors do not have / had information about the bidding process carried out by the province for the expansion of the sewage treatment plant. Likewise, with regard to the opinion about the expansion of the plant, it is surprising that despite the declared distrust of the authorities and the information they provide; 58.5% of the residents are confident that the work will improve the quality of life of the community.

88.7% of the respondents believe that they should (people from the neighborhood with civil society organizations) participate in monitoring spaces to the actions of the state in the area of ​​environmental control. It was also consulted about the inclination towards participation in monitoring spaces of the actions of the municipality and the province in the process of construction of the new plant. 56.6% expressed that they would be willing to participate in these spaces if they arose.

The survey also aimed to know about the health history of the neighbors, consulting about symptoms and diseases they have had, their frequency, the diagnosis provided and the treatment indicated. In this regard, 69% said they had suffered from one of the listed symptoms.

The results of the survey process show that the community of Chacras de la Merced is in a serious situation of vulnerability due to the confluence of numerous factors that lead to the violation of their most basic rights. Álida Weht, director of the Las Omas grassroots organization whose objective is to improve the quality of life of the neighbors, has stated that: “the results constitute the visibility of a pollution situation that dates back several decades and a community Which has been immersed in an immediacy of problems for the same time.

In the context of the recent events related to the overturning of the Suquía River, both from company waste and from raw sewage, it is necessary to highlight the emergency in which the Chacras de la Merced neighborhood is located.

Full survey report

More information

Contact

Agustina Palencia – agustinapalencia@fundeps.org

We participated in the public hearing for the installation of Cantera Colombo in Chacras de la Merced

Concerned about the situation of vulnerability in the community of Chacras de la Merced, we participated in the public hearing with a legal technical report that gives an account of the irregularities of the project to install a new quarry.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”

On Wednesday, April 12, the Secretary of Environment and Climate Change convened a public hearing to discuss the installation project “Cantera Colombo” in the vicinity of the neighborhood Chacra de la Merced. The Cantera Colombo project would be located to the east of the city of Cordova, outside the urban ejido of the city, in the place known as Heart of Maria, being the population center affected by the work the locality of Chacra de la Merced. This is an open pit dry quarry, where the extraction of aggregates without the use of explosives would be carried out, and then transferred the material to the classification plant owned by the owner named Canteras Ruiz, located at Camino Chacra de La Merced, Km.

Among the main considerations that we made in the Report on the environmental impact study “Cantera Colombo” it should be mentioned that it did not take into account the special situation of vulnerability in which the community of Chacra de la Merced is located due to the accumulated impact that affects Progressive and negative in the right to health, life and a healthy environment. Among the main causes that explain the transformation of what was the “Green Belt of the city of Cordoba” we find: the installation of real estate ventures, quarrying, installation and omission in the controls on tanneries, malfunctions and The supersaturation of the sewage treatment plant (EDAR Bajo Grande), lagoons generated by the old quarries. Also within the irregularities that emerged from the analysis of the environmental impact study we find that:

-The integrality of the project will have significant and mostly negative and irreversible impacts on the environment, especially on the quality of water, soil, air, health and quality of life.

– Does not comply with the minimum content detailed in art. 19 of the law 10,208 (baseline in health taking into account that it will be located 300 meters from a school and 150 meters from the river Suquía, public services affected as public transport).

-Takes outdated baselines (affected population, census 2008).

“He does not cite reliable sources.”

– Does not detail the measures of recomposition and mitigation of the impacts.

Therefore, from FUNDEPS we recommend an in-depth evaluation by the Ministry of Environment as the controlling body of this project, taking into account the considerations made, and having the necessary mechanisms in order to comply with the expected legal and environmental parameters In order to protect the fundamental rights of the residents of Chacra de la Merced.

More information

Report of FUNDEPS by installation Cantera Colombo

Video situation Chacras de la Merced

Authors

María Pérez Alsina, Virginia Corradi y Male Martínez Espeche.

Contact

Male Martínez Espeche / Environment Team Coordinator

malemartinez@fundeps.org

Regional thematic hearing of the IACHR in the fulfillment of the DESCA

We will be participating in one of the public hearings convened by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to be held on March 17, 18, 20, 21 and 22 in Washington.

In the context of public hearings, the one that summons us is about “Right of access to information relevant to the enforceability of economic, social, cultural and environmental rights”. This was requested from the IACHR in conjunction with organizations in the region, such as Fundación Construir (Bolivia); Institute of Legal and Social Studies of Uruguay (Ielsur, Uruguay); Regional Alliance for Free Expression and Information (Uruguay); ARTICLE 19 (Brazil); Center for Archives and Access to Public Information (CAinfo, Uruguay); Fundar – Analysis and Research Center (Mexico); And Civil Association for Equality and Justice (ACIJ, Argentina).

The hearing we will participate in will expose to the Inter-American System of Human Rights (IACHR) the need to consolidate standards regarding production and access to information that allow progress towards the effective implementation and enforceability of economic, social, cultural and environmental rights DESCA). There are international and regional commitments in this area that show clear obligations with respect to production and access to information, which are necessary in order to advance the enforceability and exercise of these rights. However, in the countries of the region there are serious failures to comply.

Several international agencies have not found necessary information to determine whether DESCAs are respected in the countries of the region. Specifically, they have noted deficiencies related to the collection and systematization of information on the exercise of the rights to education, employment, health and social security of women; Children and adolescents; People with disabilities; Indigenous peoples; Afro-descendants and migrant workers and their families. In this same line, they have stated that it is a state obligation to produce information from which it is possible to validate indicators and, in general, access to many of the guarantees covered by each social right.

Argentina and Cordoba are no exception in this regard. The case of contamination by the Bajo Grande WWTP plant, which affects the Chacras de la Merced community, is a clear example of human rights violations aggravated by the lack of access to information. The State does not provide data on levels of air and soil pollution, nor does it provide information on health effects to the people of the neighborhood, mainly women and children. In this way, the enforceability of the rights of the people affected is hampered.

That is why it is fundamental to strengthen the implementation of standards around the scope of state obligations of production, availability and timely access to information on DESCA. The latter, in addition to being essential for the design, implementation and evaluation of public policies, makes it possible to strengthen the demand strategies of civil society, generating the conditions for many violations of rights to be repaired.

We invite you to follow the live broadcast through the official website of the IACHR.

More information

Contact

Juan Carballo – juanmcarballo@fundeps.org

Débora Fernandez

We participated in the regional hearing of the IACHR in pursuit of compliance with the DESCA

We were part of one of the public hearings convened by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH), held on March 17, 18, 20, 21, and 22 of the current day in Washington.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic.”

In the framework of public hearings, the one that calls us is about “Right to access relevant information for the enforceability of economic, social, cultural and environmental rights.” This was requested from the IACHR in conjunction with organizations in the region such as Fundación Construir (Bolivia); Institute of Legal and Social Studies of Uruguay (Ielsur, Uruguay); Regional Alliance for Free Expression and Information (Uruguay); ARTICLE 19 (Brazil); Archives Center and Access to Public Information (CAinfo, Uruguay); Fundar – Analysis and Research Center (Mexico); and Civil Association for Equality and Justice (ACIJ, Argentina).

The audience of which we were a part, exposed to the Inter-American System of Human Rights (SIDH) the need to consolidate standards regarding production and access to information that allow progress towards the effective implementation and enforceability of economic, social, cultural and environmental (DESCA). There are international and regional commitments in this area that show clear obligations regarding production and access to information, which are necessary to comply with the requirements to enforce and exercise these rights. However, in the countries of the region there are serious shortcomings in their compliance.

Several international organizations have not found the necessary information to be able to determine if DESCA are respected in the countries of the region. Specifically, they have noted deficiencies related to the collection and systematization of information on the exercise of women’s rights to education, employment, health and social security; children and adolescents; People with disabilities; indigenous Afro-descendants and migrant workers and their families. In this same line, is that they have specified that it is a state obligation to produce information from which the validation of indicators is possible and, in general, access to many of the guarantees covered by each social right.

Argentina and Cordoba are not the exception in this aspect. The case of contamination by the Bajo Grande WWTP plant, which affects the Chacras de la Merced community, is a clear example of the human rights violations aggravated by the deficiency in access to information. The State does not provide data on the levels of air and soil pollution, as well as the information collected on the effects on the health of the people of the neighborhood, mainly women and children. In this way, obstacles to the enforceability of the rights of the people affected are placed.

That is why it is fundamental to strengthen the implementation of standards around the scope of the state obligations of production, availability and timely access to information on DESCA. The latter, in addition to being essential for the design, implementation and evaluation of public policies, allows strengthening the enforceability strategies of civil society, generating the conditions for many violations of rights to be repaired.

More information

Contact

Juan Carballo – juanmcarballo@fundeps.org