DIVEST from mining in the Santurbán Páramo
International Finance Corporation - World Bank
HELP US to protect Santurbán and, with it, all of Colombia’s páramos!
Páramos are unique wetlands high atop the Andes Mountains. They are the fertile lands where rivers are born. Plants there trap water from the clouds, hold it in the earth, and distribute it through rivers and streams to lands below.
In Colombia, the Santurbán páramo provides clean water for nearly two million people living in the departments of Santander and North Santander.
A Canadian company, Eco Oro Minerals, intends to develop a gold mine there, which would cause permanent damage to the sensitive páramo ecosystem.
Yet the fight to defend Colombia’s páramos is strong.
Tens of thousands of people have marched throughout Colombia to defend them.
And in a progressive victory, Colombia’s highest court officially declared unconstitutional all oil, gas, and mining operations within páramos.
But Eco Oro insists on building the Angostura Mine in Santurbán.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-sector branch of the World Bank, has invested in the project.
It did so in spite of the World Bank’s commitment to sustainability and responsible use of resources. This project would, instead, damage a vital ecosystem and poison a common resource.
The IFC’s investment in Angostura disregards its own operating standards, and ignores the impacts the project would have on the environment and people of Colombia.
The IFC must withdraw its investment immediately!
The health and future of one of Colombia’s most important water sources is in their hands.
TELL THE IFC to divest from the Angostura mining project!
Petition by
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To:
International Finance Corporation - World Bank
From:
[Your Name]
Dear Sirs or Madams:
I am writing you today about your investment in the Angostura mining project, owned by Eco Oro Minerals Corp, located in the Santurbán páramo in Santander, Colombia.
I consider this investment unviable, which is why I am writing you today.
The Constitutional Court of Colombia declared mining in its páramos to be unconstitutional because they are vital water sources and play an important role in fighting climate change. The environmental risks of mining are high for both present and future generations.
The Office of the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman found in an internal report that this project fails to meet several of the social and environmental standards with which the World Bank Group—of which you are a part—must comply. One of these standards states that you must respect Colombian law.
Part of the World Bank’s mission is to promote sustainability around the world. This mission is incompatible with the implementation of large-scale mining in an ecosystem vital to the water supply of millions of people.
Sincerely,