Cristian Fernández is the Legal Coordinator at Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales

Earth Day is celebrated every April 22 to remember the progress made protecting the environment. In truth, there is little to celebrate in the midst of the climate crisis, during the hottest year ever recorded. Nonetheless, this date has been used around the world since 1970 to raise awareness of the need to care for our planet and the common goods — soil, water, air, biodiversity — that make life on it possible. 

Argentina’s National Constitution recognizes that uniform protection of the environment is necessary in order to enjoy the right to a healthy, balanced and suitable environment for human development.

For environmental defenders, every day is Earth Day. These people — activists, scientists, members of grassroot movements and Indigenous communities — are largely responsible for protecting these common goods. They are on the frontline of the battle when it comes to preserving nature and ways of life that are under constant threat from activities that come under the guise of development.

According to a 2022 Global Witness report, Latin America and the Caribbean is the most dangerous region to be an environmental defender, accounting for 88% of murders of environmental defenders worldwide. What’s more, the trend is on the rise: in Colombia, for example, these killings nearly doubled from 33 in 2021 to 60 in 2022. Indigenous people, Afro-descendant communities, small-scale farmers and environmental activists bear the brunt of the violence, according to the report. All too often, these crimes go unpunished. 

Twenty-five of the 33 countries in the region signed the Escazú Agreement in 2018. So far, 15 have ratified it. The Escazú Agreement is Latin America and the Caribbean’s first regional environmental treaty. It is the first in the world with specific provisions for the protection of individuals, groups and organizations that promote and defend human rights in environmental matters. 

The agreement, which is binding, links environmental rights to human rights. It recognizes present and future generations’ right to live in a healthy environment and includes a principle of non-regression that puts a brake on regressive environmental policy. The accord is an instrument of international law with the potential to hold states accountable to the international community and strengthen capacities and cooperation across the region.

Argentina’s environmental agenda

Argentina took an important step when it ratified this agreement in 2020, and another in October 2023 when it presented its national plan for the implementation of the Escazú Agreement. This three-year plan established guidelines and strategic actions to bring the accord into force, defining priorities and actions for the Executive Power referring to its governance, capacity building and public participation. 

However, an effective governance system has not yet been established, leading to difficulties accessing information, barriers to public participation in the decision-making process, and the criminalization of environmental defenders. In December 2023, government reforms eliminated the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, transforming it into an undersecretariat within a secretariat that also includes tourism and sports. 

This implies an institutional setback that violates the principle of non-regression contained in the Escazú Agreement and bucks world trends. The Environment Ministry is a necessary institutional instrument for the state to build a dialogue-based and participatory environmental agenda. Demoting it from its ministerial rank shows that implementation of the Escazú Agreement will be complex in the current political context.

The third meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Escazú Agreement (Escazú COP 3) will take place in Santiago, Chile, April 22-24. The conference presents an opportunity to advance the agreement’s goals, particularly the protection and safeguarding of environmental defenders, the effective participation of local communities in decisions related to their territories, and the right to access justice and information. Santiago de Chile will be the epicenter of a crucial dialogue between representatives of member countries, in the hope of strengthening environmental democracy in our continent.

During the meeting in Santiago, a Regional Action Plan on Human Rights Defenders in Environmental Matters is likely to be approved. This plan is meant to define specific measures to prevent the criminalization of environmental defense and to incorporate a gender perspective into the agreement. 

The incorporation of a gender perspective into the agreement will be discussed, recognizing that environmental protection and gender equity are intrinsically intertwined. Despite the key role played by women defenders, their struggle remains invisible due to systematic discrimination, institutionalized sexism and existing gender stereotypes. 

We can no longer afford delays or excuses. Protecting our environment and those who defend it is a responsibility we share as a society.