Call on Colombia's government to halt the diversion of the Magdalena river
Please sign Friends of the Earth Colombia's online petition calling for the diversion of the Magdalena river to be suspended. If the diversion takes place it will cause irreversible destruction to the country's principal river basin and hydrological resource.
The Quimbo Hydroelectric Project is the first dam to be built in Colombia entirely by a multinational corporation. The project will inundate about 8,250 ha within its reservoir, some of the region's most fertile land that will destroy the food security of hundreds of communities of fisher people, day workers, coffee growers, tobacco growers, cacao growers, artisanal miners and transporters among others that interact with the Magdalena River.
Since the project started in 2008 the affected communities have protested and proposed alternatives for the development of their region. They have been consistently ignored by national authorities. Now the transnational company has unrecognised a significant portion of the affected peoples whose rights are being violated.
After four years of uncertainty the Association of the Affected of the Quimbo Hydroelectric Project (ASOQUIMBO) and other social sectors have decided to move forward with a regional strike in defence of the territory of Huila, effectively paralysing the dam's construction for two weeks.
The people need your help
Please sign Friends of the Earth Colombia's online petition directed to the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development to suspend the diverting of the Magdalena river scheduled for 8 February 2012. If the river is diverted it will cause irreversible destruction to the country's principal river basin and hydrological resource without taking into account the arguments and evidence of the affected communities.
Take action now on the Friends of the Earth Colombia website (in Spanish and English)
