The following declaration states the conclusions of participants in the
Floating Seminar of the Paraguay River, organized by Sobrevivencia -
Friends of the Earth Paraguay and the Coalition Rios Vivos
Paraguay-Parana'-Plata, who in three boats descended the Paraguay River
between 17-27 July, 1996 as part of a permanent dialogue with the
populations of the La Plata Basin. Along the way, they travelled through
sections of the river programmed for large-scale engineering works as part
of the Paraguay-Parana' Hidrovia industrial waterway, currently being
planned by the governments of the region. Participants included citizens
of the countries of the La Plata Basin, North America, and Europe.
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DECLARATION OF THE RIO PARAGUAY
We, indigenous peoples of the Paraguay basin, traditional communities,
scientists, environmental experts, and ecologists from various countries,
concerned with the future of our rivers, have taken part in the Floating
Seminar on the Paraguay River, and united in our message, propose
strategies for the construction of sustainable societies in the region.
We are the Earth, the peoples, the plants, the animals, the waters, the
sun's rays, the breath of the winds. We want to honor the Earth as the
place of all living beings.
We have come to testify to the depredation we have witnessed along our
entire descent of the Paraguay River, from Corumba' to Asuncio'n. The
model of occupation established in our region bears no relation to the
needs of the peoples who live along the river bank, nor with the potential
of its ecosystems. Indigenous peoples have been expelled from their
territories and deprived of their sustainable means of wisdom, of
happiness, and of life. Huge barge convoys have replaced the ancestral
means of transport and navigation adapted to the natural conditions of the
river; mining and mineral loading docks contaminate their surroundings;
logs pile up in the lumber mills which consume the final remains of the
lush ancient forests; enormous columns of smoke and ashes darken the sky in
midday announcing the imminent end of prosperity on the earth and the
eclipse of its original cultures. Signs of the inevitable collapse of this
heart of America in whose rhythm pulses and breathes the security of life
in the La Plata Basin.
Facing this situation, and because we still have time, we want to propose
paths which serve to improve the condition of life in the basin: paths
which do not destroy, but which restore the balance today threatened.
The salvation of the planet and its peoples, present and future, demands
the creation of a new civiilization based on an ethic which respects its
limits, diversity, solidarity, equality, justice, and liberty.
We are all a unit in our diversity. We assume the shared responsibility to
protect and to restore the Earth so that its natural resources may be used
wisely, preserving ecological balance and the social, economic, and
spiritual values which assure sustainability.
The existing patterns of consumption, of production and distribution of
resources, currently oriented toward extraction, concentration, and
expropriation, bring human societies and the ecoystems which sustain them
to an inevitable disaster. All initiatives must therefore be urgently
directed to meet the needs of local and traditional populations, especially
indigenous peoples, assuring the sustainability, the equality, and the
respect for diversity in our societies.
Sustainable societies are based on the self-determination of local
communities and original peoples in full exercise of their right to decide
on the management and administration of the ecosystems which they are part
of.
Administration of resources should be directed and controlled by local
communities throughout the process, based upon criteria of sustainability,
defined by studies which determine their carrying capacity, and the forms
of processing and commercialization, having as their basis self-sufficiency
and inter-dependence.
The diversity of habitats and cultures who live in them determine different
uses which in turn make interchange possible, and establish factors of
inter-dependence which must be respected and made compatible.
We consider that our region must be thought of as an integrated whole for
the design of policies for management and territorial use.
The La Plata Basin in its entirety must be the unit for all plans,
projects, or activities.
The restoration of ecosystems which have been damaged by the current
predatory development, is a need which can not be delayed. The balance and
integrity of ecosystems must be recuperated, especially in degraded areas
of critical importance for the structural restoration of hydrological
systems. Proposed actions such as permanent dredging and the construction
of dams for water regulation or for sediment retention do not constitute
solutions, but rather threats. They do not look at the true causes of
problems of sedimentation of river beds and deterioration of hydrological
systems, but rather the maintenance of the predatory system which only
seeks economic benefits for large corporations, while financial and
environmental costs are paid by populations and by nature.
The infrastructure to be implanted in the region must be in function of the
needs of local populations and not external interests. Respecting this
criteria, all initiative must have as its origin and finality the needs and
interests of local communities. Even so, its implementation must adapt
itself to natural conditions, avoiding negative social and environmental
impacts. The governmental project for the Paraguay-Parana' industrial
waterway does not respond to either of these criteria. This project,
designed behind the back of populations of the region, will not bring any
benefits nor solutions for the needs of the peoples of the Basin, but
rather will increase even more their problems, generating greater impacts
and increasing social and environmental costs, many of them irreversible.
The existing resources destined for mega-projects promoted by international
financial institutions and entities of cooperation must be re-directed
toward the true needs of local populations, moving away from their current
orientation to promote unsustainable projects which only benefit those
small groups in whose hands power and resources are concentrated.
From the curves of the Paraguay River, July 27, 1996
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Glenn Switkes, Director, Latin America Program,
International Rivers Network
1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, California 94703, USA
Tel. (510) 848 1155 Fax (510) 848 1008
South America address:
a/c ICV, Rua 2, no. 203, Bairro Boa Esperanca,
CEP 78.068-360 Cuiaba, MT, Brazil
Tel/Fax: +55 65 627 1689
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