A court has ruled that the pollution violates the rights of a river that runs through Ecuador’s capital, Quito.
In a customary ruling, an Ecuadorian court ruled Sunday that pollution has violated the rights of a river that runs through the capital, Quito.
The city government appealed the sentence, which is based on a article of the Constitution from Ecuador that recognizes the rights of natural elements like the Machángara River. The activists who filed the lawsuit said Sunday that the decision is “historic”.
“It’s historic because the river runs right through Quito and, because of its influence, people live very close to it,” said Darío Iza, whose group Kitu Kara filed the lawsuit on behalf of the river. The court ruled that, while the appeals are resolved, the Government will have to present a plan to clean the Machángara.
Why must Machángara be saved?
The city of 2.6 million inhabitants discharges all types of effluents and pollutants in the Machángara, which originates at the top of the Andes mountain range. But as he passes through Quito he encounters problems such as almost total lack of wastewater treatment that are poured into it.
“The river drags tons of garbage that come down from ravines and slopes,” according to the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature (GARN). The river has 2% average oxygen levelswhich hinders the development of aquatic life.
In some parts of Latin America and North America, inhabitants have constitutional rights to a clean environmentbut Ecuador is one of the few countries that recognize the right of natural elements not to be degraded nor contaminated.
Historic victory” for the Machángara River
Environmental groups have celebrated the news, with GARN posting on Instagram: “Historic victory for #NatureRights: The Machángara River in Ecuador is declared subject of rights!”.
“This decision represents a great advance in the protection and decontamination of one of the most vulnerable rivers in the country,” the group added. “The municipality has been declared responsible for violating rights and now you must establish a specific plan for decontamination of the Machángara River, following the ruling of the Monjas River, including concrete measures and ensuring the active participation of the community.”
A spokesperson for the environmental NGO CEDENMA added: “Today we celebrate great news: the Machángara River in Ecuador has been recognized as subject of rights and its restoration has been ordered. “We dream of a clean river with the smell of mint, as it was before.”
