Based on the story published by The Guardian on Monday, June 5th, 2017 Hydroelectric Agua Zarca and DESA would like to clarify the following:

1. FMO, FINNFUND and CABEI have suspended their founding to reduce tension in the project area. However, based on what they have informed Agua Zarca, their decision has nothing to do with the unfortunate incident associated with the death of Mrs. Berta Cáceres last year. As a matter of fact, there is no connection between Agua Zarca and the mentioned incident.

2. Hydroelectric Agua Zarca has not been sanctioned by any legal institution in Honduras, and there is no proven evidence that Agua Zarca is linked to any violation of Human Rights. As far as Agua Zarca knows, lenders see the project as a responsible initiative that respects life and the rule of law, and there are four thousand people who support the project in Santa Barbara and Intibuca in Honduras.

3. Hydroelectric Agua Zarca is not an environmentally destructive project, and there is no respected institution that have stated so. Also, the project has never been sanctioned like the article says. As a matter of fact, Agua Zarca conducted a community consultation according to the Honduran law.

4. We encourage The Guardian to investigate how international NGOs, particularly in Europe, are influencing certain decisions in Europe and Honduras.

Best regards, 

COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT HYDROELECTRIC AGUA ZARCA