Four non-governmental organizations created the Access Venezuela coalition, which aims to track the government's promises on environmental management issues, and to conduct training and distribute information, one of its leaders, Alcira Ascanio, told Tierramérica. The new coalition — made up of Fundárbol, Consorcio Desarrollo y Justicia, Justicia Alternativa and Fundación Justicia y Paz, of the eastern state of Monagas — will be part of the Access Latin America network, which already operates in Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico and Peru.

The first efforts of Access Venezuela will target the water lentil, the proliferation of which is threatening Lake Maracaibo, covering 10 percent of that major body of water in the Venezuelan west.

“Along with information and case follow-up, we will encourage the communities to participate in finding ways to resolve the problem,” said Ascanio.