When a CDM project reminds of civil war atmosphere

The statement criticizes the Santa Rita hydroelectric project in Guatemala's Alta Verapaz region, alleging that the project ignores the legal requirement for prior indigenous community consent and has led to human rights violations, intimidation, and environmental degradation. It highlights a pattern of criminalization of local leaders and lack of benefit for native populations, arguing that such projects contradict the Clean Development Mechanism's (CDM) goal of promoting sustainable development.

• The Santa Rita hydroelectric project in the Alta Verapaz region of Guatemala is facing community opposition due to environmental and social impacts and the violation of indigenous consultation rights mandated by the Guatemalan Agreement on Identity and Rights of Indigenous Peoples and ILO Convention No.169.
• The stakeholder consultation process for the Santa Rita project, initiated in 2009, is described as a negotiation rather than a free and informed process, with only 8 of 22 affected communities invited to meetings held in a hotel rather than in community settings.
• The Guatemalan government and local authorities have been accused of prioritizing private investment over human rights, including the establishment of a military camp and the use of a dialogue roundtable to investigate and intimidate community members opposing the project.
• The document identifies a broader pattern of corruption, criminalization of leaders, and community conflict in other Guatemalan projects, specifically naming Cambalan, Palo Viejo, and Xacbal.
• The project threatens the local population's access to water, as Guatemala lacks water regulation and the defined 'ecological flow' is only 10% of the dry season flow, often leaving populations with only access to mud after dam construction.

APA

CMW (2014). When a CDM project reminds of civil war atmosphere. Carbon Market Watch. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2014/06/13/when-a-cdm-project-reminds-of-civil-war-atmosphere/

Chicago

CMW. When a CDM project reminds of civil war atmosphere. Carbon Market Watch, 2014. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2014/06/13/when-a-cdm-project-reminds-of-civil-war-atmosphere/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=CMW |title=When a CDM project reminds of civil war atmosphere |publisher=Carbon Market Watch |date=13 June 2014 |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2014/06/13/when-a-cdm-project-reminds-of-civil-war-atmosphere/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{cmw2014when, author = {CMW}, title = {{When a CDM project reminds of civil war atmosphere}}, publisher = {Carbon Market Watch}, year = {2014}, month = jun, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2014/06/13/when-a-cdm-project-reminds-of-civil-war-atmosphere/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }