Amnesty International pushing Argentina to protect biodiverse wetlands

By Bala Chambers

LONDON (AA) - On occasion of Earth Day on Friday, Amnesty International Argentina launched a campaign to push the country's Congress to approve a bill to "regulate, protect and conserve" Argentina's biodiverse wetlands, which has been pushed back for a decade.

On March 2, the wetlands bill was reintroduced for the fourth time since 2011 after having lost its parliamentary status last December 2021.

According to the executive director of Amnesty International Argentina, Mariela Belski, "the bill is about to complete ten years of delays. Legislators seem to ignore this urgent issue, which puts the future of our environment and our rights at stake."

As the climate crisis continues to strike the planet hard, Belski noted "it is essential that we raise our voices" to demand a change.

Belski said that Amnesty International will be taking part this Friday in the mobilizations which are being carried out by activists and defenders of the environment across Argentina to demand the wetlands bill finally becomes law.

In Argentina's capital Buenos Aires, a mobilization with the participation of Amnesty International has been announced for 5.30 pm local time on Friday from Plaza de Mayo to Argentina's Congress.

A group of young climate activists called Jovenes Por El Clima Argentina who formed in 2019 will also attend the mobilization alongside other civil organizations. Jovenes Por El Clima Argentina has been successful at lobbying the government to change a number of different laws related to the environment. On Instagram, the group said “on this earth day, we take to the streets across all of the country to mobilize against the climate and ecological crisis".

Wetlands are areas that remain submerged underwater for periods or indefinitely and help to regulate ecosystems.

According to Amnesty International, they play a vital role in "reducing the effects of the climate crisis because they provide biological and cultural diversity and are sources for carbon storage."

The Parana wetlands, which spread across some 19,300 kilometers, are one of the largest deltas in the world, extending from Brazil and northern Paraguay, to northern Argentina - where they flow into the capital's Rio de la Plata estuary.

The area is home to wide-ranging biodiversity - with around 700 species of different animals and vegetation.

However, many are at risk due to human activities and overexploitation which has heavily impacted the local ecosystems.

In recent years, the area has been hit by rising urbanization, industrial cattle and soy farming which has helped in part to drive wildfires in the area.