Photo by Credhos.
On August 11, the Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project posted on social media:
“On 25 July, from the Magdalena Medio region, @credhos_paz [the Regional Corporation for the Defence of Human Rights] – Fedepesan [the Federation of Artisanal Fishermen, Environmentalists and Tourists], accompanied by PBI, undertook a tour of the wetlands of San Silvestre, El Llanito and El Palotal, against a backdrop of changes to water cycles and water levels. In this ecosystem, riverside communities, fishers, birds, small reptiles and mammals form part of the fundamental dynamics underpinning natural, community and local life. The environmental defence of the territory entails a political responsibility linked to environmental protection and the right of communities to preserve their traditional practices and processes of subsistence and survival within the territory. The continued existence and livelihood of communities in the territory require the State and companies to take responsibility for the environmental conditions affecting them.
The testimonies recount years of environmental changes and impacts, during which communities have continued to defend their territory and demand conditions that allow for the sustainability of diverse ways of life.”
On August 5, Credhos posted this additional context on social media:
“Since the beginning of July this year, the Federation of Environmentalist and Tourist Artisan Fishermen of the Department of Santander (Fedepesan) has been warning about the socio-environmental impacts on the wetlands complex of San Silvestre, El Llanito, and Palotal, aggravated by rising temperatures and decreasing water flow, which also highlights the effects of the climate crisis in our region.
This has led to the death of various species, the risk of vector-borne diseases and forest fires, the limitations of river mobility, and a serious impact on the development of subsistence artisanal fishing.
This scenario is the result of decades of negative environmental impacts related to different industrial activities and a practically non-existent local strategy for the prevention of these impacts.
Once again, we have accompanied Fedepesán on a tour through different wetlands, where a critical decrease in the water reservoir has been recorded, fish mortality, and the presence of oily discharges have been recorded.
This indicates the need to promptly implement the orders of the popular action lawsuit filed in 2024 in defense of the rights and collective interests of Fedepesán, where research and participatory monitoring are presented as key tools for the participatory management of the wetlands of Barrancabermeja.”
Accompaniment
The Regional Corporation for the Defence of Human Rights (Credhos) accompanies the Federation of Artisanal Fishermen, Environmentalists and Tourists (Fedepesan). Peace Brigades International has accompanied Credhos since 1994.
On the morning of Thursday June 30, 2022, PBI-Canada joined with PBI-Colombia as they accompanied Fedepesan and Credhos on a visit by boat on the San Silvestre wetland ecosystem in Barrancabermeja and were shown the impacts on water, wildlife and livelihoods of artisanal fishers.
From Canada, we continue to follow the work of Credhos and Fedepesan with great interest and solidarity.
