Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Atuel River Case Before the Supreme Court

By - - and IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

BUENOS AIRES, Aug 18 2007 (IPS) - Entrepreneurs, trade unionists, farmers, environmentalists, politicians and students in the central Argentine province of La Pampa have denounced before the Supreme Court the abusive usage of the Atuel River in neighboring Mendoza province. “We were without water for eight months, and suddenly it floods everything,” Leandro Altolaguirre, of the Alihuen Association, one of the groups filing the claim, told Tierramérica.

According to Altolaguirre, technical studies show that if the Atuel River is adequately regulated its flow can be maintained year-round. But the authorities in Mendoza, where the river begins, “abuse it, as they are upriver,” and it hurts the environment and economy of La Pampa.

“We are going to demand a halt to the damage and that the parties be required to agree on shared management of the river,” said the activist following a meeting of all the groups behind the denunciation.