“A stalk of sugarcane is worth more than the life of a human being”
The destructive impact of monocultural practices on local communities in Guatemala
PBI accompanies defenders from the municipalities of Retalhuleu and Champerico, Guatemala who were denouncing environmental degradation caused by agro-industrial exploitation of indigenous and peasant lands.
During an observation mission carried out by PBI earlier this year, defenders described how the countryside has become sparse of crops, watercourses, and natural diversity, instead marked by endless kilometres of sugarcane monocultures. Deforestation has accelerated in the region to make way for sugar mills owned by powerful companies, many producing luxury items such as well-known brands of rum that are exported in large quantities. Local communities have experienced a detrimental loss of access to land and water as resources are monopolised for industrial agriculture.
Adverse impacts on local communities
“The mills extract 3,600 gallons of water per minute 24 hours a day through wells, in addition to sequestering the rivers. Where there is sugar cane, nothing can be produced because there is no water.”
– José Miguel Sánchez López, water defender from the community of Pajales Sector Sis
The livelihoods of 65 families that make up the Pajales Sector Sis community is threatened by the activities of two sugar mills (El Pilar and Tululá) which have diverted water from the River Sis – a vital source of community life – for sugarcane irrigation.
The river has been polluted by waste products discharging into the Sis from an open channel, causing loss of harvest and spreading of diseases such as dengue fever. Access to water for irrigation has been limited to an hour a day, preventing the growth of local crops such as corn. Fishing has also been impacted as river levels have dropped drastically and species commonly found 30 years ago are rarely spotted.
As local wells dry up, local communities, particularly women, are forced to travel further and more often to collect water. Women are also more often exposed to dermatological diseases caused by the toxic agrochemicals which contaminate the water they use for cleaning.
After being denied the resources to continue community activities, many locals must now depend on the mills to survive, having little option but to work in the plantations under abusive conditions. Several investigations, including an evaluation carried out by the European Union on the Association Agreement between its member states and Central America, have documented violations to labour rights, working hours, occupational health and safety, union rights and the use of child labour in the sugarcane industry. The Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office also issued a report in 2021 expressing concern for the serious situation of rivers in the municipality of Champerico and the communities that depend on them.
Read more about the fight for water rights in Guatemala’s South Coast
Criminalization of water defenders
When local people speak out against these violations, they are met with repressive tactics used to silence them with the purpose of preserving business interests. Local indigenous and environmental defenders face threats, coercion, and criminalization. Women human rights defenders (WHRDs) described to PBI how they have received disrespectful and degrading treatment when making complaints to authorities. Lorena González, a WHRD from the community of Tierra Blanca has been the target of death threats for publicly denouncing the effects of the diversion of water from the local Nil River by a company which built a dam without the free, prior and informed consent of the community.
“Sugarcane cultivation has brought poverty and migration to the communities. On this coast, a stalk of sugarcane is worth more than the life of a human being.”
– Doña Reina, President of the women’s association in the 20 de Octubre neighbourhood, Champerico
The threats and attacks faced by water defenders on the southern coast of Guatemala are typical of attacks that defenders across the country face. Maya Q’eqchi communities who live along the shores of Lake Izabal, Guatemala’s largest freshwater lake have been threatened, criminalised, attacked and murdered simply for demanding clean water. In 2017 a group of fishermen demanded to know more about the environmental impact of a ferronickel mine established on their ancestral land on the shores of the lake. One of them was killed, and local reporter, Carlos Choc was criminalised for covering the story.
Watch The Struggle for water at the Guatemalan South Coast to find out more about the advance of industrial monoculture and its effect on communities’ right to water.
Hope for Change: The Biodiversity and Ancestral Knowledge Law Initiative
Hundreds of ancestral authorities and indigenous and peasant organisations presented the Biodiversity and Ancestral Knowledge bill in May 2022 to members of the Guatemalan Congress, who pledged to take the initiative through the legislative process. The proposed law, also known as “the People’s Law,” reaffirms the rights of native peoples, indigenous and peasant communities and aims to secure respect, recognition, conservation and protection of their collective knowledge systems and practices, as well as biological diversity in their territories. This is in line with the IPPC’s recognition that the voices, knowledge and practices of indigenous communities must be centred in the struggle to combat the climate crisis.
Industrial monocultures are just one of many extractive practices that have intensified the climate crisis and represent a deadly threat to communities worldwide which suffer exploitation, poverty, water scarcity, poor health and food insecurity. Opposition is often met with attacks, threats and criminalization. The People’s Law is a crucial step toward safeguarding traditional ways of living and community values which lessen the impacts of climate change. However, its implementation constitutes a huge challenge which will require multi-sectoral mobilisation and collaboration.
