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les femmes et la souverainete alimentaire : les voix des femmes rurales du sud
The document argues that the dominant agro-industrial model, driven by profit and export, marginalizes rural women by ignoring their role in social reproduction and denying them land rights. Through testimonies from the Global South, it illustrates how corporate land grabbing and state complicity lead to economic displacement and environmental degradation. In response, rural women are organizing through movements like La Via Campesina to promote food sovereignty, preserve ancestral seeds, and implement agro-ecological alternatives to ensure the sustainability of life and biodiversity.
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Document type: Report
women and food sovereignty: voices of rural women of the south
The document argues that rural women in the Global South face severe gender-based inequality, including restricted land access and economic exploitation, which is exacerbated by a corporate-led agribusiness model. It highlights how this model causes environmental destruction and social displacement, disproportionately affecting women who are often the primary preservers of biodiversity and traditional seeds. Through testimonies from regions such as Nigeria, Indonesia, and Latin America, the report details the 'work overload' women face as they manage both social reproduction and agricultural production, often without recognition or fair pay. It advocates for 'food sovereignty'—the right of peoples to control their own seeds, lands, and food production—as a political and practical alternative to the industrial model. The report concludes that rural women are leading resistance through agro-ecological practices, political self-organisation, and the preservation of ancestral knowledge to ensure the sustainability of human life.
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Document type: Report
Harmonized Perspectives Study for the harmonization of knowledge and experience from the indigenous/local, technical and scientific spheres for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Climate Change (CC) programming
The report argues for a 'symbiosis' of indigenous wisdom and scientific data to build community resilience in Central America. It details the holistic worldview of indigenous peoples, who view climate change as a result of human imbalance with 'Mother Earth'. The study provides a synergy model linking biodiversity, DRR, and CC, and documents success stories where traditional knowledge—such as interpreting natural indicators or using ancestral seeds—effectively mitigated disaster impacts. It concludes that indigenous peoples must be treated as active stakeholders and decision-makers in public policy rather than mere objects of projects.
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Document type: Report
APPLICATION FOR PERMISSION TO PROCEED AS AMICI CURIAE
The Center for International Environmental Law, on behalf of La Mesa, requests amicus curiae status in the Pac Rim v. El Salvador case. They argue that the dispute is a political disagreement over sustainable development and public policy rather than a legal dispute over a specific government measure. The document highlights severe environmental risks associated with the proposed El Dorado mine, including threats to the Rio Lempa basin and local aquifers, and alleges that Pac Rim's activities have contributed to community violence and the murder of environmental defenders. Legally, the amici contend that Pac Rim's last-minute corporate reorganization to gain CAFTA benefits is an abuse of process and that the tribunal lacks jurisdiction under the ICSID Convention and CAFTA.
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Document type: Legal commentary
SOLICITUD DE PERMISO PARA PROCEDER COMO AMICI CURIAE
The document is a request and supporting brief from a coalition of Salvadoran civil society organizations (La Mesa) seeking to intervene in the Pac Rim Cayman LLC v. Republic of El Salvador arbitration. The authors argue that the claim is an abuse of process and that the tribunal lacks jurisdiction because the conflict is fundamentally a political debate about metal mining and sustainable development, not a legal dispute over a specific government measure. They highlight severe environmental risks associated with the El Dorado mine, including threats to the Lempa River basin and local aquifers, and document a pattern of violence and intimidation against anti-mining activists in El Salvador.
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Document type: Legal commentary
pela terra que nos alimenta florestas e biodiversidade & soberania alimentar
This report by Friends of the Earth International documents community struggles and successes in maintaining food sovereignty and biodiversity across diverse geographic contexts. It examines the negative impacts of industrial monocultures, corporate land grabs, and genetically modified organisms (GMOs) while promoting agroecology, seed saving, and community-based forest management as sustainable alternatives. The text emphasizes the role of women and indigenous peoples in protecting ecosystems and argues that food sovereignty is unattainable without the preservation of biological diversity.
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Document type: Report
Competing Ecosystem services: an Assessment of Carbon and Timber in the Tropical forests of Central America
The study compares the economic returns of carbon sequestration and timber harvesting in Central American tropical forests between 1990 and 2005. It finds that while timber generally offers higher face-value returns, the attractiveness of carbon-based conservation is highly dependent on carbon pricing and discount rates. The author argues that integrating co-benefits and sustainable forestry management can make carbon-focused options more competitive.
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Document type: Policy brief
movilizar, resistir, transformar de luchas y éxitos 40 años
The document outlines four decades of activism by Friends of the Earth International, highlighting specific successes in banning commercial whaling in Spain, prohibiting open-pit mining in Costa Rica, and establishing the first climate change law in the UK. It details diverse campaigns against coal power in Germany, oil pollution in Nigeria, and genetically modified organisms in Europe, while emphasizing the role of grassroots mobilization and legal action in achieving environmental protections and human rights.
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Document type: Report
mobiliser, resister, transformer
This report highlights the achievements of Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) over four decades, detailing specific campaigns against extractive industries, pollution, and unsustainable development. It documents legal victories, such as the ban on open-pit mining in Costa Rica and the recognition of water as a human right in Uruguay, as well as grassroots successes in reforestation in Belgium and the protection of eucalyptus forests in Australia. The text emphasizes the role of international solidarity and legal action in challenging neoliberal globalization and protecting the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities.
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Document type: Report
mobilise, resist, transform and successes 40 years of struggles
The report documents various environmental and social justice campaigns led by Friends of the Earth (FoE) member groups across the globe. Key achievements include the 2008 UK Climate Change Act, a ban on open-pit metal mining in Costa Rica (2010), and the cessation of commercial whaling in Spain (1985). The document also details ongoing resistance against coal-fired power plants in Germany and Scotland, gas flaring in Nigeria, and the impact of large-scale dams in Mozambique, South Korea, and the Philippines. It emphasizes a strategy of combining grassroots mobilization, legal challenges, and international solidarity to combat corporate globalization and protect indigenous and community rights.
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Document type: Report
Religion: an integral part of determining and reducing the climate change and disaster risk agenda
The document argues that religious beliefs can both increase and decrease vulnerability to climate change and disaster risks. Using a case study from El Salvador, it demonstrates that faith influences how people perceive hazards like floods and droughts and determines whether they adopt preventive measures. The author notes that while religion can improve the lives of the poor, certain interpretations of disasters may hinder sustainable development, highlighting a gap in policy guidance for integrating belief systems into adaptation and risk reduction programmes.
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Document type: Research paper
SITUACIÓN DE DEFENSORES Y DEFENSORAS DEL MEDIO AMBIENTE EN MESOAMÉRICA
The briefing details a systemic pattern of violence, criminalization, and state neglect targeting environmental defenders in Mesoamerica, specifically those opposing mining projects. Testimonies from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Panama highlight a recurring cycle where high metal prices and trade agreements drive mining expansion, while weak regulatory frameworks and state complicity lead to the murder, disappearance, and harassment of activists. The document argues that states often fail to investigate crimes or protect defenders, instead using the legal system to criminalize protest and ignore the right to free, prior, and informed consent of affected communities.
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Document type: Briefing
Competing Ecosystem Services: an Assessment of Carbon and Timber in the Tropical Forests of Central America
The research paper evaluates the trade-offs between carbon storage and timber extraction in Central American tropical forests using Net Present Value (NPV) analysis. It finds that while timber is more profitable on a face-value basis, the attractiveness of forest conservation is highly dependent on carbon pricing and discount rates. The author argues that incorporating co-benefits and sustainable forestry management is essential for making conservation economically competitive with timber harvesting.
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Document type: Research paper
ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENDERS IN DANGER: THE SITUATION IN MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA IN THE CONTEXT OF INDUSTRIAL MINING
The report documents a regional trend of violence against environmental defenders in Mexico and Central America linked to industrial mining. It argues that this violence stems from state failure to manage environmental impacts and a lack of protection for defenders, often exacerbated by the influence of foreign mining companies from Canada and the United States. Through case studies in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Panama, the document details threats, kidnappings, and assassinations, while recommending stronger institutional protections, the implementation of free, prior, and informed consent, and greater accountability for home states of foreign corporations.
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Document type: Report
ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENDERS IN DANGER: THE SITUATION IN MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICAN IN THE CONTEXT OF INDUSTRIAL MINING
The report documents a growing trend of repression and violence against environmental defenders in Mexico and Central America, linked to the expansion of industrial mining. It argues that this violence stems from state failure to manage environmental impacts and a lack of protection for human rights defenders, often characterized by high levels of impunity in both host and home countries of mining companies.
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Document type: Executive summary
Defensoras y Defensores Ambientales en Peligro La Situación en México y Centro América En el Ámbito de la Industria Minera
The report documents a regional trend of violence against environmental defenders in Mexico and Central America, linking these abuses to the social and environmental impacts of industrial mining and the failure of states to protect human rights. It provides case studies from five countries and recommends strengthening institutional protection, environmental regulations, and the right to free, prior, and informed consent.
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Document type: Report
EIAS IN PRACTICE: POTENTIAL LESSONS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IMPACT ASSESSMENT
The document analyzes the 40-year history of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), identifying its strengths in promoting public engagement and its failures in baseline data quality and mitigation enforcement. It argues that Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA) can avoid these pitfalls by adopting specific procedural improvements, such as earlier implementation, broader definitions of affected parties, and external monitoring of mitigation measures.
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Document type: Briefing
Frameworks and Options for Addressing Technology Cooperation in the UNFCCC: National and Multilateral Elements
The document assesses the institutional and financial failures of technology transfer from industrialized to developing countries under the UNFCCC. It contrasts the G77 + China proposal for a centralized Executive Body and Multilateral Climate Technology Fund with the European Union's preference for bilateral Technology Oriented Agreements and carbon market financing. To resolve these divergences, the author suggests a three-themed evaluation framework based on legal principles, actions across the technology chain (R&D, demonstration, deployment, and diffusion), and institutional mandates. Additionally, the document details the Climate Action Network's (CAN) call for a dedicated Technology Cooperation Mechanism and a Technology Fund to ensure measurable, reportable, and verifiable (MRV) delivery of climate-friendly technologies, specifically addressing intellectual property barriers through a proposed International Declaration on Climate Technologies and IPRs.
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Document type: Briefing
Microbial Exposure and Health Assessments in Sanitation Technologies and Systems
The report provides a comprehensive health risk assessment of sanitation technologies, categorizing them into functional groups: user interface, collection and storage/treatment, conveyance, semi-centralized treatment, and reuse/disposal. It identifies critical exposure points for users, workers, farmers, and the community, emphasizing that technical barriers (like storage time and pH elevation) must be combined with socio-cultural behavioral changes (such as hand-washing) to effectively break the cycle of disease transmission. The document analyzes specific technologies—ranging from open defecation and pit latrines to advanced wastewater treatment plants—and provides epidemiological evidence on their impact on diarrhoeal diseases and helminth infections.
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Document type: Report
fuelling destruction in latin america
The report argues that the drive for agrofuels in Latin America is based on a cash-crop model of intensive monocultures that benefits large landowners and international agribusiness while causing widespread deforestation, water shortages, and human rights abuses. In Brazil, sugarcane expansion is linked to slave-like working conditions and the displacement of family farms. Argentina's soy-based biodiesel industry has led to significant deforestation and the concentration of land ownership, with 46% of production controlled by 2.2% of producers. In Colombia, oil palm expansion is associated with paramilitary violence and the forced displacement of Afro-descendant and indigenous communities. Central American countries, including Costa Rica, Guatemala, and El Salvador, are increasing production to meet US and EU demand, which the report warns will exacerbate child labour and food insecurity. The document highlights the influence of multilateral banks like the IADB and the World Bank, and corporations such as Cargill and Bunge, in financing and driving this transition.
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Document type: Report