Both ENDS

News / 19 March 2019

Ana di Pangracio: "Degradation of wetlands, worsened by climate change, is a recipe for disaster"

We asked three of our partner organisations to tell us how climate change is already affecting the daily lives of the people they work with, what they are doing to turn the tide and if they think the Climate Court Case against Shell can be important in the context of climate change. Ana di Pangracio, working for FARN (Argentina) tells us about climate threats to large wetlands, while these same wetlands are crucial in mitigating global climate change.

"We work with communities in different wetlands areas across Argentina. These fragile environments are threatened by human activity, disappearing at a rate of 1% per year, a higher rate than deforestation. They are exposed to draining and burning for agricultural enterprise and rural development.

The loss and degradation of wetlands in a climate change scenario that causes more often and heavier rains is a recipe for disaster. Communities are affected by severe floods that alter their daily lives, livelihoods and property. Wetlands can help us cope with and mitigate global warming. We need laws and policies to effectively address the urgency of these ecosystems as well as strategies on climate change that include the wise use of wetlands.

We empower communities and individuals to exercise and defend their environmental rights, to get access to public information and participate in decision-making processes. We carry out environmental education and training activities. We do advocacy at all levels, perform research and produce diverse documents for communication and outreach purposes.

I think it is important to hold the private sector accountable for their share of responsibility in the climate change crisis we face. And strategic litigation is a powerful tool civil society can use to trigger the much needed action from corporations to effectively address and reverse global warming."

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