Contamination of Sacred Lake Underscores Environmental Racism in Guatemala

Contamination of Sacred Lake Underscores Environmental Racism in Guatemala
Saturday, 28 May 2016 00:00
By Jeff Abbott, Truthout | Report


[font size=1]
A boat of tourists arrive at the dock of San Pedro la Laguna on Lake Atitlan's southern shore in September, 2012.
(Credit: Jeff Abbott)
[/font]
Lake Atitlán, in the Guatemalan highlands, draws millions of tourists annually to the vast blue waters and towering cliffs of its scenic volcanic crater. But the lake is in crisis. In early March 2016, the lake's Indigenous Mayan communities and the National Indigenous Observatory, with support from a number of local organizations, filed an official complaint against the 10 municipalities around the lake about the continued deterioration and contamination of the lake due to corruption and the mishandling of official funds.

Protesters across the department have united to demand that the government clean up the contamination. In July 2015, a movement called Atitlán Sano, or Clean Atitlán, began on social media. It quickly picked up speed, focusing primarily on drawing the attention of area businesses, local municipal governments and the Authority for the Sustainable Management of the Basin of Lake Atitlán, a government body formed in 1996.

"The situation in the lake is very critical," said Marvin Romero, from the Scientific Committee of the Atitlán Basin and one of the founders of Atitlán Sano. "Because the contamination is reaching dangerous levels. The municipalities have the legal responsibility (to protect the lake). But they have done little to resolve the contamination. They have little interest in investing in the environment. And when residents have demanded that the municipality do something, the municipal mayors have claimed there is no money."

The systemic failure to resolve the rampant contamination reflects a larger problem within Guatemala: the historic racism against Indigenous communities. This racism has guaranteed that Indigenous communities are repeatedly left to bear the environmental costs of industry. As a result, these Indigenous communities are often at the forefront of resistance efforts against environmental contamination.


[font size=1]
A fisherman rows his boat through an outbreak of cyanobacteria along the shore of San Pedro la Laguna in September, 2012.
(Credit: Jeff Abbott)
[/font]
More:
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/36185-contamination-of-sacred-lake-underscores-environmental-racism-in-guatemala

Environment & Energy:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1127102036