“The Argentine Supreme Court of Justice is called to defend the right to a healthy environment”, 18 December 2019

The Kolla and Atacama indigenous communities from Salinas Grandes and Laguna de Guayatayoc, and Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (FARN) filed an environmental protection action against the governments of Salta and Jujuy and the National State, to prevent the serious and irreversible damage of lithium and borate mining in the water system shared by the demanded provinces.

The legal action is based on the fact that the area of ​​Salinas Grandes and Laguna de Guayatayoc, a shelter of valuable biodiversity on which communities depend for the development of their life and culture, is part of a closed water system that is considered as a fragile ecosystem, with little natural entry of water. However, “the lithium fever makes companies move forward in the extraction, although it is known that the technique uses large amounts of water and could affect the fragile water balance,” emphasizes Alicia Chalabe, lawyer for the communities.

…“There are not enough environmental baseline studies produced at the basin level, nor are existing projects cumulatively evaluated together with other water uses. There is no comprehensive watershed vision, since both Salta and Jujuy authorities do not manage the basin in an inter-jurisdictional way. Furthermore, local communities have not been involved in decision making...”, says Santiago Cané, FARN’s legal area coordinator…