At the end of 2020, the Mexican government ratified the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean (1). The Escazú Agreement, as is known, establishes provisions on access to information, citizen participation and protection of activists in defense of the environment. This fact is extremely important for Mexico and its Protected Natural Areas (ANP).
ANPs are territories whose function is to conserve the country's diverse ecosystems, its biodiversity, and the services they provide (2). They are regulated under the regulatory framework of the General Law on Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection (LGEEPA). This law contains several clauses related to the aspects addressed in the Escazú Agreement. For example, it mentions the obligation of the federal government to make public all information regarding activities and works carried out within the national territory, as well as the environmental impact they may cause (Art. 34 of the LGEEPA). It also considers as a premise for achieving the objectives of protection and conservation of ecosystems and biodiversity, the participation of society in the planning, execution, monitoring and evaluation of the policy for the establishment, management and surveillance of ANPs (Arts. 47, 47BIS, 48, 56BIS, 65, 66). However, there is no mention of the protection of activists in defense of their territory.
Despite their “protected” nature, ANPs are not exempt from deforestation, devastation and environmental human rights violations. There have been many cases in which the construction of mining, hydroelectric or tourist megaprojects has affected biodiversity and the ecosystems that ANPs are supposed to protect (3). Right now, the construction of the Mayan train is a threat to at least eight ANPs in the southeastern part of the country (4). These megaprojects often operate within a framework of opacity and rigged participatory processes.
On the other hand, the ANP have also been affected by human rights violations against environmental activists. In 2019 alone, 15 nature defenders were killed. Among them are the cases of Homero Gómez, defender of the monarch butterfly against illegal logging in the El Rosario Reserve in Michoacán (5) and that of Adán Vez Lira, defender of the La Mancha natural area, against open-pit mining in the region (6).
The Escazú Agreement will enter into force in two more months. This represents an opportunity for our country to strengthen the generation, dissemination and access to environmental information, citizen participation in environmental policy, and to create a safer environment for human rights defenders. Andrea Cerami, manager of Human Rights at the Mexican Center for Environmental Law (Cemda), commented on several benefits that will come with the Escazú Agreement in the ANP: first, consulting the population on environmental impact authorizations in megaprojects will no longer be optional but a State obligation; second, citizens will be able to participate in land planning in the governance of the ANP; and third, policies to protect people from the environment will not only be reactive, but will begin to be preventive to avoid aggressions, in addition to creating a legal framework for access to justice (7).
The Escazú Agreement, in itself, will not be a panacea for reversing the problems faced by the ANP and its inhabitants in defense of their territory, but it will undoubtedly provide greater strength to what has already been built in terms of access to information and participation, and with regard to the issue of justice, hopes to guarantee a safer environment for environmental defenders.
Note:
(1) Senate Gazette LXIV/3PPO-47/113732. November 5, 2020.
(2) General Law on Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection. https://biblioteca.semarnat.gob.mx/janium/Documentos/Ciga/agenda/DOFsr/148.pdf
(3) Megaprojects devastate nine Protected Natural Areas. Contralínea Magazine. https://www.contralinea.com.mx/archivo-revista/2017/05/09/megaproyectos-devastan-nueve-areas-naturales-protegidas/ [Accessed January 6, 2021].
(4) Maya Train would fragment 8 protected natural areas. Footer. November 29, 2019. https://www.noroeste.com.mx/publicaciones/view/tren-maya-fragmentaria-8-areas-naturales-protegidas-1180624 [Accessed January 6, 2021].
(5) The price of defending nature in Mexico: 15 activists killed in one year. La Izquierda Diario - International Network. February 5, 2020. http://www.laizquierdadiario.com/El-precio-de-defender-la-naturaleza-en-Mexico-15-activistas-asesinados-en-un-ano [Accessed January 6, 2021].
(6) Adán Velez Lira, defender of the natural area of La Mancha, is assassinated in Veracruz. Political Animal. April 8, 2020. https://www.animalpolitico.com/2020/04/asesinan-adan-vez-lira-defensor-veracruz/ [Accessed January 6, 2021].
(7) How will the Escazú Agreement be implemented in Mexico? Excelsior. November 07, 2020. https://www.excelsior.com.mx/nacional/como-se-implementara-en-mexico-el-acuerdo-de-escazu/1415608 [Accessed January 6, 2021].
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