Water Justice Wins!
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WIN! Cambuquira, Brazil a blue community
May 8, 2014 – 10:18am Cambuquira, Brazil has become the first blue community in Latin America! Photo: Excerpt of the municipal resolution committing Cambuquira to the principles of being a blue community. Its municipal council passed the resolution…
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WIN! Mexico imposes tax on soft drinks to provide drinking water
January 21, 2014 – 8:19am In December 2012, we noted in a campaign blog that La Alianza por la Salud Alimentaria (The Alliance for Healthy Food) and its member groups have demanded a tax on soft drinks and for that money to be allocated to the introduc…
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European Groups applaud Bern for becoming first Blue Community in Europe
Social justice, environmental, and labour organizations in Europe are applauding the city of Bern for taking a bold new step to protect water as a commons. Launched by the Blue Planet Project based in Canada, the Blue Communities certification requires municipal governments to pass legislation recognizing water as a human right and pledging to promote…
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Bolivia scraps controversial highway plan
Al Jazeera English reports, “Evo Morales, the president of Bolivia, has announced that he is scrapping plans to build a highway through a nature reserve in Bolivia’s jungle lowlands, bowing to public pressure after a two-month protest march by Amazon Indians.” “Bolivia’s leftist president said he would veto a law passed last week that green-lighted…
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Right to Water in Mexican Constitution
I am so excited to announce that the Mexican Senate has voted to add the right to water to the Constitution just moments ago! This initiative also adds the right to a healthy environment! The initiative now needs to be voted in the majority of the state legislations, which might still take a few months,…
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UPDATE: The human right to water in the Mexican Constitution – one step closer
For years, Mexican organizations have been pushing our government to acknowledge the human right to water and act accordingly. The Coalition of Mexican Organizations for the Right to Water (COMDA), together with other organizations, started a campaign for the right to water in 2006. However, it seemed unlikely at that time such an initiative would…
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Vermont water as a public trust law challenges quarry permit
The Burlington Free Press reports that, “In the first cases involving Vermont’s 2008 groundwater protection law, an state Environmental Court judge has ruled that regulators must take additional steps to consider the impact on groundwater when reviewing projects with a potential to pollute.” “Judge Merideth Wright on Wednesday reopened a permit issued last year by…
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WIN! Judge orders construction of Zapotillo dam suspended
The Inter Press Service has reported that the Zapotillo dam in Mexico “would divert the course of the Verde river and carry water to the cities of León and Guadalajara. The project, to be completed by late 2012, also involves the construction of a 140-km aqueduct from the dam, pumping plants, a disinfection plant, a…
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Kalahari Bushmen win right to water in Botswana court decision
Survival International reports this morning that, “In a momentous decision, Botswana’s Court of Appeal today quashed a ruling that denied the Kalahari Bushmen access to water on their ancestral lands. …Celebrating after the decision, a Bushman spokesman said, ‘We are very happy that our rights have finally been recognized. Like any human beings, we need…
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WIN! The Human Right to Water and Sanitation
On July 28, 2010, the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly agreed to a resolution declaring the human right to “safe and clean drinking water and sanitation.” The resolution, presented by the Bolivian government, had 122 countries vote in its favour, while 41 countries – including Canada – abstained.