[ [link removed] ]Isabel smiling while she holds her granddaughter

I’m Isabel, this is me and my granddaughter.

Our community’s water is contaminated with a carcinogenic pesticide which
is banned in Europe, so the companies are selling it here in Costa Rica
instead. We’re so close to getting it banned here too, but we need help to
get it done. Will you sign this petition to my government to ban this
pesticide and protect our water and health?


[ [link removed] ] Sign the petition 

   
Hi John,

I’m Isabel – I live in Cipreses, a small town in Costa Rica. I wrote this
email in Spanish, and Ekō helped me translate it. I'm writing because my
community’s water is contaminated with a carcinogenic pesticide. We know
how to fix it, but we need help.

The chemical is called chlorothalonil and it’s banned in 32 countries, but
instead of taking it off the market, European companies like Syngenta are
just selling it to countries in the Global South like Costa Rica.

For 9 years now, I’ve been fighting with other women in Cipreses to get it
banned, and we’re making progress on what used to feel impossible: Costa
Rica's constitutional court has given the executive branch a deadline of 6
months to ban chlorothalonil!

But the ministers in charge could delay the ban if they don’t feel
pressure – that's why we created this petition and need as many people as
possible to see and support it. Then we’ll work with Ekō to take all the
signatures straight to the ministers. Can you help us get this done?

[ [link removed] ]Tell the government of Costa Rica: ban this carcinogenic pesticide

These last years have been very tough on my community. Besides never
having enough water, my daughter Fiorella had polyps at 16 and has now
lost her sense of smell and taste. One of my neighbors has tongue cancer,
and several young people have been diagnosed with stomach cancer. It’s
alarming that so many people are getting sick in such a small place. And
ever since scientists confirmed the water is contaminated, the government
has told us not to drink the tap water at all.

And to make it all worse, some locals with the support of the pesticide
lobby regularly harass, intimidate and threaten us with death because of
our activism.

As hard as it is, as hard as it’s been, we won’t give up. Because it isn’t
just Cipreses: we already know other springs are contaminated – in areas
where 80% of Costa Rica’s vegetables are grown – and there could be many
more. We feel we can’t let Syngenta use countries like ours – from Latin
America to Africa – as dumping grounds for chemicals they can’t legally
sell in Europe!

This is why the constitutional court ruled that chlorothalonil should be
banned. They also made recommendations to ensure that our local farmers
can still make a living and receive support for transitioning to
alternatives. There will even be financial incentives to produce new
alternatives.

So there’s no reason not to do this, and we’re so close to winning. But
now it all depends on how much pressure our leaders feel. If every person
receiving this email signs the petition and shares it, we could win in
Costa Rica and then fight for a domino effect to ban chlorothalonil in all
of Latin America – will you join us?

[ [link removed] ]Tell the government of Costa Rica: Ban chlorothalonil

From Cipreses, we thank all the people who are part of Ekō for everything
they do to support communities like ours and to build a better world for
everyone.

With much love,

Isabel, Ana María, Fabián and Jordan in Cipreses



[ [link removed] ] Sign the petition 







More information:

[ [link removed] ]‘Water is sacred too’ How a pesticide banned in Europe robbed a Costa
Rican town of its drinking water
Public Eye. June, 2023

[ [link removed] ]The EU and UK exported 1,000 tonnes of a banned pesticide to poorer
countries, investigation reveals
Euronews. June 26, 2023

 

 

Ekō is a worldwide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy.

Please help keep Ekō strong by chipping in $3. [link removed]