PBI-Colombia accompanies CREDHOS as they tour with FEDEPESAN and Amnesty International endangered wetlands

On August 29, the Regional Corporation for the Defence of Human Rights (CREDHOS) tweeted:

“#Credhos and #Amnesty International begin the tour with #Fedepesan [the Federation of Artisanal Fishermen of Santander] analyzing the environmental situation between the San Silvestre, El Llanito and Palota wetlands. Visiting the Manatee [an endangered marine mammal sometimes referred to as a sea cow] corridor.”

Reporting on a previous visit to the wetlands on June 30 (also with CREDHOS and PBI), Lise Josefsen Hermann writes in EL PAÍS:

“A canoe glides slowly through the waters of the Ciénaga de San Silvestre, just outside Barrancabermeja in northern Colombia. On board are five fishermen who defy the dangers of a hot zone in every way: to the usual more than 30 degrees of temperature are added the challenges of an area with the presence of paramilitaries, the Clan del Golfo and the ELN guerrilla group. But these women, grouped in the Federation of Artisanal Fishermen of Santander (Fedepesan), have organized to defend the water from pollution in an area affected by two landfills and several industries, including a refinery of the oil company Ecopetrol, the largest company in Colombia.”

The full article about the water defenders who risk their lives to protect these wetlands around the city of Barrancabermeja can be read at: Amenazas y destierro: el precio a pagar por defender el agua en Colombia.