The UK's Department for International Development (DFID) invested 3.3 million pounds in El Salvador with the funds going to create a luxury development, Villa Veranda. Environmentalists and advocates for the poor say that such developments -- gated communities -- are using up precious water resources and polluting water for those who could never afford to live there; they are also the reason for deforestation.
Oscar Ruiz from Acua, a local NGO for the environment, is tracking more than a dozen projects established over the past decade, from gated communities to golf courses. "I remember driving down to the coast even a few years ago and the climate was much cooler, there were more trees, and few if any of these mega developments," he says.
Despite this, Yanira Cortez, deputy attorney in the Salvadoran state's human rights office, says "mega projects" are having a "severe impacts; on the environment and on water resources. "This accelerated urbanisation is not respecting the rights of future generations," she says
Tell El Savador to stop using funds intended for international development to marginalize the poor. Start using those funds for worthy projects that will further your entire nation.
Dear Sir,
We the undersigned ask that you stand up for the rights of all El Salvadorans and allocate funds to projects for the entire country rather than those that marginalize the poor.
The UK's Department for International Development (DFID) invested 3.3 million pounds in El Salvador with the funds going to create a luxury development, Villa Veranda. Environmentalists and advocates for the poor say that such developments -- gated communities -- are using up precious water resources and polluting water for those who could never afford to live there; they are also the reason for deforestation.
Oscar Ruiz from Acua, a local NGO for the environment, is tracking more than a dozen projects established over the past decade, from gated communities to golf courses. "I remember driving down to the coast even a few years ago and the climate was much cooler, there were more trees, and few if any of these mega developments," he says.
Despite this, Yanira Cortez, deputy attorney in the Salvadoran state's human rights office, says "mega projects" are having a "severe impacts; on the environment and on water resources. "This accelerated urbanisation is not respecting the rights of future generations," she says
Stop using funds intended for international development to marginalize the poor. Start using those funds for worthy projects that will further your entire nation.
