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Letter to Colombian President Urging Audit for Urrá Dam

English :: Español

January 27, 2005

Presidencia de la República
Dr. Álvaro Uribe Vélez
Palacio de Nariño
Cra. 8 No. 7–26
Santa Fe de Bogotá
Colombia

Fax: +57 1 566–20–71
E–mail: auribe@presidencia.gov.co

Your Excellency,

We are writing to express our concern about the 400 Embera–Katío community members including 185 children affected by the Urrá Dam. Since December 22, 2004 they have been encamped in Bogotá first at the Ministry of the Environment, Housing, and Land Development and since their eviction on December 23, at the offices of the National Indigenous Organization (ONIC).

The families, who are living under deplorable conditions, are refusing to leave Bogotá until high level representatives of your government meet with them and begin a dialogue to address compliance with the agreements the Colombian government, the Urrá Company and the Embera signed in April 2000. The agreements address land restitution, sharing of project benefits, resettlement, mitigation of impacts, human rights and measures to end the violence against the indigenous communities which began with project construction and continues to date.

We support the demand of the Embera–Katío for an international audit to evaluate the social and environmental impacts of the dam. Such an evaluation would be an essential part of complying with the agreements of 2000.

The Urrá Dam has negatively affected more than 70,000 people, including the Embera–Katío communities upstream, and downstream fishing and peasant communities and Zenú indigenous peoples. It is essential that the Urrá project be evaluated before the culture and livelihoods of the Embera–Katío and the peasant and fishing communities downstream are further harmed; and before delicate ecosystems such as mangroves and wetlands are further devastated.

The World Commission on Dams (WCD), in its report, "Dams and Development: a New Framework for Decision Making," recommends post–project construction evaluations. "These periodic evaluations at intervals of 5 to 10 years should be comprehensive, integrated, cumulative and ready to accept adaptation", the WCD states. I am sending you separately the WCD report and other relevant material.

Mr. President, the future of the communities affected by the Urrá Dam is in your hands. We urge you to instruct a high–level government delegation to meet with the Embera representatives to begin negotiation on complying with the April 2000 agreement and to commission an independent audit of the Urrá Dam impacts.

Not addressing this situation now will only increase the suffering caused by the Urrá Dam to the Embera–Katío and downstream communities.

Yours sincerely,

Monti Aguirre
Latin America Program

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For further information, please contact:

Monti Aguirre, International Rivers Network
E–mail: monti@irn.org
Phone: +1 510–848–1155