The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN) informed representatives of the Mayan Q'eqchi', Garifuna and Mestizo communities of Livingston and El Estor, Izabal, that ten environmental licenses in the Sierra Santa Cruz, granted during the government of Alejandro Giammattei, were cancelled.
The meeting, behind closed doors at the Palace of Culture, was chaired by Rodrigo Rodas, Vice Minister of the Environment, who on June 18 promised the indigenous authorities to deliver a response on the cancellation of ten metallic mining licenses in the Sierra Santa Cruz area.
On June 18, the population protested in front of the Livingston sub-mayor's office, because two days before, in a meeting with representatives of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, it was not specified whether the exploration licenses of Río Nickel S.A. would be cancelled. At the end of the day, riot police repressed representatives of the 54 communities of the municipality who had closed a road.
At that meeting, the authorities promised to report on the administrative process of the licenses by July 30.
According to the information provided to the communities by the authorities, the ten licenses were requested by the companies Río Níquel, with six projects, and Producciones del Atlántico, with four. These projects would operate in the Sierra Santa Cruz, a special protection area located in northeastern Guatemala and north of Lake Izabal.
The cancelled permits are requirements for companies to obtain their exploration and exploitation licenses from the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM).
These mining projects would contaminate the water sources that come from the Sierra Santa Cruz area and supply 54 communities between Livingston and El Estor.
“The vice minister who was with us said that the ten licenses that were granted, in 2023, by the last government were cancelled today,” Enrique Che, community authority of Río Pita, Livingston municipality, told Prensa Comunitaria. Che valued the resistance actions of the communities, which he considers to be a legacy for future generations. “We value our struggles, when we found out what the Canadian mining company was doing …,” said the indigenous authority.
MARN will provide more information in a press conference
This afternoon, MARN was asked for an opinion on what was reported to the communities, but responded that on Thursday, July 31, information will be given in a press conference at the Palace of Culture. […]
Irregularities
On June 20 Patricia Orantes, the Minister of Environment, said in a press conference that irregularities were detected in the issuance of environmental licenses because the opinion of the Authority for the Sustainable Management of Lake Izabal (AMASURLI) was not requested.
In the same press conference, the official said that the Santa Anita and Santa Anita 2 projects had made excavations. In the inspection that took place in the first and second week of June, six excavations were illegally carried out, for which they filed complaints with the Public Prosecutor's Office (MP).
Simón Antonio Ramón
Journalist Maya Q'anjob'al
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