Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Demands for Ecological Integration

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BUENOS AIRES, Jul 29 2006 (IPS) - Argentine environmentalists have proposed that the countries of Mercosur (Southern Common Market) take a regional focus for drafting policies that involve their shared natural resources. For the first time, a forum of civil society organizations met in parallel to the Mercosur Summit, held July 20-21 in the central Argentine city of Córdoba. The trade bloc is made up of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela.

“The environment does not understand borders. Natural resources are shared and so is responsibility for their management,” Cecilia Iglesias, an activist with the Environmental Network, told Tierramérica.

The Network and other environmental groups participating in the parallel forum also called for regulating the activities of highly contaminating industries, harmonizing environmental protection standards amongst the Mercosur members, and ensuring access to public information on related issues.