Mesoamerica

Hundreds of large dams planned in secrecy threaten the rivers of Central America and Mexico and the livelihoods of communities that depend on them. The dams would impact fish populations and riverine, wetland and mangrove ecosystems which contain many animal and plant species, some still undiscovered.

The Plan Puebla Panama (PPP), a massive infrastructure plan for the region, includes plans for interconnecting the electricity grids of the region, to be fueled mostly by hydropower. The regional power grid will interconnect the electricity grids of Central America with those of North America. Financing for the grid and the PPP comes from a range of sources, including the Inter–American Development Bank and the Central American Bank of Economic Integration.

A growing civil society movement is challenging the PPP, trade agreements, and the construction of more large dams in the Mesoamerican region. Communities are concerned about the systematic exclusion of rural populations from the decision–making process and the profound impacts on ecosystems, communities and local economies. In 2002, dam-affected people and activists from Mesoamerica created the Mesoamerican Movement Against Dams, and for Water and Life. The network meets every 2 years in different locations around Mesoamerica. Today, the development and consolidation of national networks of dam–affected peoples and their allies is taking place all over the region. Such networks include the Mexican Movement of Peoples Affected by Dams and in Defense of Rivers (MAPDER), the National Guatemalan Front Against Dams, the Panamanian Network Against Dams, and the Salvadorean Movement Against Dams.

International Rivers is working to support the growing Mesoamerican Movement Against Dams through providing technical assistance, strategic advice and help with specific campaigns such as the struggle for reparations for communities affected by the Chixoy Dam in Guatemala and the campaign to stop construction of the La Parota Dam in Mexico.

LATEST ADDITIONS:

Dams Threaten Biodiversity and Indigenous People in Panama

Temporary Injunction Halts Mexico’s La Parota Dam

Tenosique: análisis económicoambiental de un proyecto hidroelectrico en el Rio Usumacinta

The Chixoy Dam Destroyed Our Lives

Second Gathering of the Mexican Movement of Those Affected by Dams and in Defence of Rivers (MAPDER)

CONTACT US:

Monti Aguirre
monti [at] internationalrivers [dot] org
+1 510 848 1155