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Article

2 Mar 2017

Author:
David, Kaimowitz, Director, Natural Resources and Climate Change, Ford Foundation

One year after her death, Berta Cáceres's voice lives on

Women who protect rivers and forests make the world a better place. When someone attacks those women, we all suffer. It has now been a year since the courageous environmental activist and indigenous leader Berta Cáceres was murdered in Honduras, and those responsible still have not been brought to justice. Berta was just one of a dozen environmental defenders killed in Honduras last year; one of 123 killed since 2009…For Berta and many other Lencas, water, trees, soil, and seeds are not simply resources to be exploited for profit. They are the very essence of life, sacred elements of their culture…Canceling the Agua Zarca dam once and for all is also now more important than ever. Honduran law recognizes indigenous communities’ right to free, prior, and informed consent when it comes to such projects, but (as we see in this case) these rights have rarely been respected in practice. This has led to a vicious cycle of resistance, repression, and death. But until the Honduran government takes strong action to stop corruption and influence peddling in decisions about mining, energy, plantation, timber, tourism, and fisheries projects—and focuses on the public good—the broader problems that fueled this situation will remain unchanged…

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